Phobia advice coming from a scaredy-cat. Read at your leisure!
5 thoughts on “Coulrophobia: The Fear of Clowns”
I am know someone with this fear and they will completely not go anywhere near clowns on Halloween. This fear kind of make sense to me in a way, clowns to me although I am not afraid are weird and creepy. Do you remember the time there was a time during Halloween that people were not allowed to dress up like clowns because there was a Facebook clown murderer? I think society of course has a huge role to play in how clowns are portray and been evolved through the times. The social idea, that clowns are bad doesn’t help even when it is being demonstrated through movies like ” It”.
We were talking about phobias in Psychology this week, and I kept thinking back to your blogs! I have never heard of these clown harassment cases; they seem quite eerie and disturbing. To be honest, I am surprised that clowns are still quite common in our culture today, since this phobia is so prevalent. However, people enjoy the rush of fear when watching scary movies and TV shows. Perhaps clowns provide this same thrill to some people, and that is why they are still around? Thank you for sharing these phobias with me the last few weeks – I have honestly found your blog very enlightening!
Clowns to me aren’t terrifying, but they are unsettling. The media definitely pushes the narrative. Who can blame them though, it’s good content. Good job on the blogs this semester. Learning about phobias have been interesting to me, and I certainly wouldn’t have learned of the vast number of phobias out there without your blog.
It’s interesting how much of a socially constructed and culturally specific fear this is, as opposed to some of the others with more of an innate wariness. My brother used to be terrified of clowns because he accidentally saw a scene from It when he was little, but I’ve never really understood the phobia. I guess there’s something implicitly disturbing about someone pretending to be happy and funny with a flashy costume, because you know that there’s a real person underneath, so there’s already the implication of dishonesty. I love that you included the history of clowns here, since that helps to give background for why our society has developed such an aversion to clowns! I loved reading your blogs this semester and learning more about different phobias!
I don’t even know where to begin with clowns. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real clown (beyond looking in the mirror). Jokes aside, I think clowns are just a bit unsettling; I can’t quite put my finger on why. Plus, I don’t think they’re very good at their job (ie. making people laugh). I do agree that the media has given them a bad wrap overall. They are at the point of being overused in the horror genre. Great job with your blogs this past semester! They have been really interesting! Strong work!
I am know someone with this fear and they will completely not go anywhere near clowns on Halloween. This fear kind of make sense to me in a way, clowns to me although I am not afraid are weird and creepy. Do you remember the time there was a time during Halloween that people were not allowed to dress up like clowns because there was a Facebook clown murderer? I think society of course has a huge role to play in how clowns are portray and been evolved through the times. The social idea, that clowns are bad doesn’t help even when it is being demonstrated through movies like ” It”.
We were talking about phobias in Psychology this week, and I kept thinking back to your blogs! I have never heard of these clown harassment cases; they seem quite eerie and disturbing. To be honest, I am surprised that clowns are still quite common in our culture today, since this phobia is so prevalent. However, people enjoy the rush of fear when watching scary movies and TV shows. Perhaps clowns provide this same thrill to some people, and that is why they are still around? Thank you for sharing these phobias with me the last few weeks – I have honestly found your blog very enlightening!
Clowns to me aren’t terrifying, but they are unsettling. The media definitely pushes the narrative. Who can blame them though, it’s good content. Good job on the blogs this semester. Learning about phobias have been interesting to me, and I certainly wouldn’t have learned of the vast number of phobias out there without your blog.
It’s interesting how much of a socially constructed and culturally specific fear this is, as opposed to some of the others with more of an innate wariness. My brother used to be terrified of clowns because he accidentally saw a scene from It when he was little, but I’ve never really understood the phobia. I guess there’s something implicitly disturbing about someone pretending to be happy and funny with a flashy costume, because you know that there’s a real person underneath, so there’s already the implication of dishonesty. I love that you included the history of clowns here, since that helps to give background for why our society has developed such an aversion to clowns! I loved reading your blogs this semester and learning more about different phobias!
I don’t even know where to begin with clowns. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real clown (beyond looking in the mirror). Jokes aside, I think clowns are just a bit unsettling; I can’t quite put my finger on why. Plus, I don’t think they’re very good at their job (ie. making people laugh). I do agree that the media has given them a bad wrap overall. They are at the point of being overused in the horror genre. Great job with your blogs this past semester! They have been really interesting! Strong work!