While Jaclyn Andrews cansa国际传媒檛 rationally explain her fear of clowns, shesa国际传媒檚 been avoiding them for years.
Walking the midway at local fairs is totally out of the question, and lately shesa国际传媒檚 considered double checking with fellow parents before attending kidssa国际传媒� birthday parties.
She realizes that might sound a little silly to some, but the clowns that haunted her nightmares as a young girl still evoke bad feelings.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 panicked, cansa国际传媒檛 breathe, sweaty,sa国际传媒� says Andrews, 35, describing how she feels when she sees a clown.
sa国际传媒淚 get the overwhelming need to get out sa国际传媒� and now.sa国际传媒�
The fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, is a relatively new phenomenon with very little research behind it. And while itsa国际传媒檚 not considered an official phobia by the World Health Organization, its sufferers say the experience is very real.
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Andrews, a resident of Hamilton, feels anxious thinking about the days ahead when evil clowns will be a focal point of popular culture and practically impossible to avoid.
A remake of Stephen Kingsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒� arrives in theatres next week and is expected to draw huge audiences intrigued by the titular shapeshifter, also known as Pennywise, who often takes the form of a clown.
And the upcoming sixth season of sa国际传媒淎merican Horror Story,sa国际传媒� which begins airing Tuesday on FX Canada, is generating buzz for the return of Twisty, a demented clown with a taste for trickery and murder.
Clowns have existed since ancient Egypt, although their trademark white faces and colourful costumes werensa国际传媒檛 established until the early 1800s when British entertainer Joseph Grimaldi began playing Joey the Clown. A similar look was adopted by Scottish businessman John Bill Ricketts when he brought the modern circus to the United States a few years later.
For many decades the happy-go-lucky personas of modern clowns like Bozo and Ronald McDonald seemed in style, but a notorious American serial killer is considered to be the inspiration for the advent of the more sinister brand of clowns.
Before he was convicted for the murders of 33 young men in 1980, John Wayne Gacy seemed like a relatively average guy, who sometimes dressed as Pogo the Clown, a character he created while volunteering at childrensa国际传媒檚 hospitals. After he was jailed, Gacy painted portraits of himself in clown costume and the artwork became the focus of exhibitions sa国际传媒� and protests.
sa国际传媒淧eople learn to be afraid from the movies they see, and from the news they read sa国际传媒� watching other people be afraid,sa国际传媒� said Martin Antony, a professor of psychology at Ryerson University.
sa国际传媒淕acy may have triggered certain directors and writers to portray clowns in that way, and that may have exacerbated fear of clowns.sa国际传媒�
Two years after Gacysa国际传媒檚 conviction, the film sa国际传媒淧oltergeistsa国际传媒� featured a scene in which a young boy is dragged under his bed by a toy clown brought to life in the middle of the night. And Kingsa国际传媒檚 novel sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒� was released in 1986 and adapted for TV in 1990, with Tim Curry playing the creepy Pennywise.
Andrews swears watching the sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒� miniseries in middle school scarred her for life, especially moments like its opening scene in which a young boy is lured by the killer clown to a sewer.
sa国际传媒�(sa国际传媒業tsa国际传媒�) just did it in for me,sa国际传媒� she says.
The fascination with vicious clowns only grew as sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒� became a favourite at video stores during the 1990s and other forgotten films like 1988sa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淜iller Klowns from Outer Spacesa国际传媒� found another life on DVD alongside the clown-like doll used by serial killer Jigsaw in the sa国际传媒淪awsa国际传媒� horror movies.
Much to the dismay of professional clown performers, those portrayals helped take the wholesomeness out of a character once considered a fixture of family entertainment.
Rami Nader, a psychologist at the North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic in Vancouver, says some people are leery of clowns because they fear their exaggerated painted smiles obscure their true emotions, which makes them unpredictable.
sa国际传媒淵ou donsa国际传媒檛 know really what theysa国际传媒檙e feeling, what theysa国际传媒檙e thinking or what theysa国际传媒檙e going to do,sa国际传媒� Nader says.
A spate of creepy-clown sightings reported across North America last year didnsa国际传媒檛 help their negative perception. Perhaps inspired by popular prank videos on YouTube, reports of individuals wandering through neighbourhoods while wearing menacing clown masks began to spread. In the U.S., Target stopped selling scary clown masks as a result.
Frank McAndrew, a professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, says he learned how deeply opinions of clowns have eroded after his study of sa国际传媒渃reepiest occupations.sa国际传媒�
The online survey, which canvassed 1,341 people, found respondents were bothered by people whose jobs held ambiguous threats, and in particular individuals who made physical contact or exhibited sa国际传媒渘on-normative, non-verbal behaviour.sa国际传媒�
Clowns ranked as the creepiest, worse than taxidermists, sex shop owners and funeral directors.
McAndrew says he found the ambiguity of a clownsa国际传媒檚 performance art seemed to rattle the respondents the most.
sa国际传媒�(They said), sa国际传媒榃e donsa国际传媒檛 know if theresa国际传媒檚 something to be afraid of, but we have a paralysis about not knowing whether we should be scared,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� he said.
The professor also discovered some members of the clown community werensa国际传媒檛 exactly helping rebuild their reputation as non-threatening. After his study was published, McAndrew said some clowns began to sa国际传媒渟talksa国际传媒� him on social media and called the president of his college in an attempt to get him fired.
But McAndrew also found that discussions about his findings online revealed a stark apathy from even those who arensa国际传媒檛 afraid of clowns.
sa国际传媒淚 donsa国际传媒檛 recall seeing anybody ever saying, sa国际传媒榊ou know, I really like clowns,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� he added.
David Friend, The Canadian Press
