“When I was little, both my parents used to dress up as clowns, doing puppet shows, birthday parties, etc. – even my birthday party. It just made me really uncomfortable and I hated it. I shared a room with my brother and had the lower bunk of a bunk bed. We had this old stuffed clown that had been in our family for years and in the middle of the night he would slowly descend it down from the top bunk and I would awake to it in my face. A few years later I also saw the movie “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” which was extremely horrifying to me at thet time – if you are ever looking for a good horror movie, that’s the one. Nowadays I try to rationalize my fear but I still get chills when I see creepy smiles.”
Coulrophobia is defined as the fear of clowns. It is an irrational fear, often termed “abnormal and exaggerated”. It is a relatively common fear, and believed to affect approximately 8% of the population. The term Coulrophobia only dates back to around the 1980s, and many experts believe that it was probably coined on the internet, as it does not appear in any previously published psychiatric or other dictionary. Possible signs and symptoms can include sweating, nausea, feelings of dread, fast heartbeat, crying or screaming, and anger at being placed in a situation where a clown is present. Causes of Coulrophobia could include traumatic experiences or exposure to negative imagery in the media. The disguise, makeup, and artificialty of a clown’s appearance and performance can bring a discomfort and unease, especially combined with the uncertainty of their true identity. Young children especially are very reactive to a familiar body type with am unfamiliar face, connected to something known as the ” uncanny valley” effect. Because clowns are a man-made/created phenomenon rather than a natural one, there is not much historical/evolutionary evidence related to Coulrophobia. Feasible treatments for Coulrophobia include among many others Hypnotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Energy Therapy, and simple exposure therapy.
Fun Fact: The circus company Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey runs an active Clown College in Florida.
