Smithsonian.com - 8/01/13, By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
You aren’t alone in your fear of makeup-clad entertainers; people have been frightened by clowns for centuries
A terrifying clown walks in a Halloween parade in New York City.
(© Gonzales Photo / Demotix / Corbis)
Even the people who are supposed to like clowns—children—supposedly don’t. In 2008, a widely reported University of Sheffield, England, survey of 250 children between the ages of four and 16 found that most of the children disliked and even feared images of clowns. The BBC’s report on the study featured a child psychologist who broadly declared, “Very few children like clowns. They are unfamiliar and come from a different era. They don't look funny, they just look odd.”
But most clowns aren’t trying to be odd. They’re trying to be silly and sweet, fun personified. So the question is, when did the clown, supposedly a jolly figure of innocuous, kid-friendly entertainment, become so weighed down by fear and sadness? When did clowns become so dark?
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