Theevil clown is a subversion of the traditional comicclown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use ofhorror elements anddark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by theDC ComicssupervillainJoker starting in 1940, and again in the 1980s byPennywise fromStephen King'sIt. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by sufferers of coulrophobia, thefear of clowns.
The character is also known as thecreepy clown,phantom clown,scary clown orkiller clown if their character revolves around terrorizing andmurdering people.
The modern archetype of the evil clown has unclear origins; the stock character appeared infrequently during the 19th century, in such works asEdgar Allan Poe's "Hop-Frog",[1] which is believed by Jack Morgan, of theUniversity of Missouri-Rolla, to draw upon anearlier incident "at a masquerade ball", in the 14th century, during which "the King and his frivolous party, costumed—in highly flammable materials—as simian creatures, were ignited by a flambeau and incinerated, the King narrowly escaping in the actual case."[2] Evil clowns also occupied a small niche in drama, appearing in the 1874 workLa femme de Tabarin by Catulle Mendès and inRuggero Leoncavallo'sPagliacci (accused of being a plagiarism of Mendès' piece), both works featuring murderous clowns as central characters.[3][4]Americanserial killer andrapistJohn Wayne Gacy became known as theKiller Clown when arrested in 1978, after it was discovered he had performed as Pogo the Clown at children's parties and other events; however, Gacy did not actually commit his crimes while wearing his clown costume.[5] During the 1980s, theNational Lampoon published a series of mock comic books in the pages of the magazine, entitled "Evil Clown", which featured a malevolent character namedFrenchy the Clown.
Evil clown themes were occasionally found in popular music.Zal Cleminson, guitarist with the English rock bandThe Sensational Alex Harvey Band, wore black and white clown-style makeup and colorful clothes while on stage during the band's 1970s heyday, while his "happy-sad-happy" demeanor helped give their performances an edge of menace.[6]
The evil clown archetype plays strongly off the sense of dislike it caused to inherent elements of coulrophobia; however, it has been suggested by Joseph Durwin[7] that the concept of evil clowns has an independent position in popular culture, arguing that "the concept of evil clowns and the widespread hostility it induces is a cultural phenomenon which transcends just the phobia alone". A study by theUniversity of Sheffield concluded "that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable."[8][9] This may be because of the nature of clowns' makeup hiding their faces, making them potential threats in disguise; as a psychology professor atCalifornia State University, Northridge stated, young children are "very reactive to a familiar body type with an unfamiliar face".[10] This natural dislike of clowns makes them effective in a literary or fictional context, as the antagonistic threat perceived in clowns is desirable in a villainous character.
ResearcherBen Radford, who publishedBad Clowns[11] in 2016 and is regarded as an expert on the phenomenon,[12] writes that looking throughout history clowns are seen as tricksters, fools, and more; however, they always are in control, speak their minds, and can get away with doing so. When writing the bookBad Clowns, Radford found that professional clowns are not generally fond of the bad-clown (or evil-clown) persona. They see them as "the rotten apple in the barrel, whose ugly sight and smell casts suspicion on the rest of them," and do not wish to encourage or propagate coulrophobia. Yet, as Radford discovered, bad clowns have existed throughout history:Harlequin, the King's fool, and Mr. Punch. Radford argues that bad clowns have the "ability to change with the times" and that modern bad clowns have evolved into Internet trolls. They may not wear clown costume but, nevertheless, engage with people for their own amusement, abuse, tease and speak what they think of as the "truth" much like the court jester and "dip clowns" do using "human foibles" against their victims. Radford states that, although bad clowns permeate the media in movies, TV, music, comics, and more, the "good clowns" outnumber the bad ones. Research shows that most people do not fear clowns but actually love them and that bad clowns are "the exception, not the rule."[11]
"Fear of clowns" redirects here. For the 2004 film, seeFear of Clowns.
A man in evil clown costume in 2007
The concept of the evil clown is related to the irrational fear of clowns, known ascoulrophobia, aneologism coined in the context of informal "-phobia lists".[13]
The cultural criticMark Dery has theorized thepostmodernarchetype of the evil clown in "Cotton Candy Autopsy: Deconstructing Psycho-Killer Clowns" (a chapter in his cultural critiqueThe Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture on the Brink).[14]
UsingMikhail Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque,Jungian and historical writings on the images of the fool in myth and history, and ruminations on the mingling of ecstasy and dread in theInformation Age, Dery asserts the evil clown is an icon of our times. Clowns are often depicted as murderouspsychopaths at many Americanhaunted houses.
Wolfgang M. Zucker points out the similarities between a clown's appearance and the cultural depictions of demons and other infernal creatures, noting "[the clown's] chalk-white face in which the eyes almost disappear, while the mouth is enlarged to a ghoulish bigness, looks like the mask of death".[15]
According to psychology professor Joseph Durwin atCalifornia State University, Northridge, young children are "very reactive to a familiar body type with an unfamiliar face".[10] Researchers who have studied the phobia believe there is some correlation to theuncanny valley effect.[16] Additionally, clown behavior is often "transgressive" (anti-social behavior) which can create feelings of unease.[17]
A 2022 survey of 987 adults from 64 countries found that 54% of respondents reported experiencing some degree of coulrophobia.[18]
In 2013, a character who became known as "theNorthampton Clown" was repeatedly sighted standing silently around the English town. The work of three local filmmakers, Alex Powell, Elliot Simpson and Luke Ubanski, the Northampton clown was similar in appearance to Pennywise from Stephen King'sIt.[23] Although rumors said that the clown may have a knife, the clown himself denied these rumors through social media.[24] In March 2014, Matteo Moroni from Perugia, Italy, owner of YouTube channelDM Pranks, began dressing up as a killer clown and terrifying unsuspecting passers-by, with his videos racking up hundreds of millions of views.[25] In 2014, further complaints of evil clown pranksters were reported in France, the United States and Germany, possibly inspired byAmerican Horror Story: Freak Show.[26]
In 2014, "theWasco clown" attracted social media attention in California. Again this clown shared a similar resemblance to Pennywise, and it was revealed that the social media postings were part of a year-long photography project conducted by the artist's wife.[27] InBakersfield, California "menacing" clowns were reported, some with weapons.[28] In July 2015, a "creepy" clown was seen around a local cemetery in Chicago and terrorizing anyone in the graveyard.[29]
ResearcherBen Radford writes that there have been many surges of evil clown sightings reported, Radford says it is most likely pranksters. Theurban legends and panic can cause real danger as "face-painted pranksters and innocent bystanders may be at risk" by interaction of well-intended public or police thinking a threat exists when it does not.[32]
In 2014,Clowns of America International responded to the depiction of Twisty onAmerican Horror Story, and evil clowns in media generally. President Glenn Kohlberger said, "Hollywood makes money sensationalizing the norm. They can take any situation no matter how good or pure and turn it into a nightmare. ... We do not support in any way, shape or form any medium that sensationalizes or adds to coulrophobia or 'clown fear.'"[33]
In 2025, British post punk bandHalf Man Half Biscuit released a single mocking evil clowns and people's fear of them entitled "Horror Clowns are Dickheads".[34]
TheJoker character in theBatman franchise was introduced in 1940 and has developed into one of the most recognizable and iconic fictional characters in popular culture, leadingWizard magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" ranking in 2006.[35] The contemporary "evil clown" archetype developed in the 1980s, notably popularized byPennywise fromStephen King'sIt, and perhaps influenced byJohn Wayne Gacy, a serial killer dubbed theKiller Clown in 1978.Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a 1988 horror comedy dedicated to the topic.[36] AlthoughKrusty the Clown, a cartoon character introduced 1989 in the animated sitcomThe Simpsons, is a comical, non-scary clown, the character reveals darker aspects in his personality. InThe Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word" (1992), children's fear of clowns features in the form of a very young Bart being traumatized by an inexpertly built Krusty the Clown themed bed, repeatedly uttering the phrase "can't sleep, clown will eat me...." The phrase inspired anAlice Cooper song in the albumDragontown (2001)[37] and became a popular catchphrase.[38] Evil clowns are also mentioned in a popular song by P!nk.[39]
The American rap duoInsane Clown Posse have exploited this theme since 1989 and have inspiredTwiztid and similar acts, many onPsychopathic Records, to do likewise. Websites dedicated to evil clowns and the fear of clowns appeared in the late 1990s.[40]
TheJoker, the nemesis ofBatman, whose key features are chalk-white skin, emerald-green hair, ruby-red lips and (in some iterations) a perpetual smile, sometimes a permanentsardonic grin or aGlasgow smile, depending on the adaption of the character.[41] He is commonly depicted as a criminal mastermind, as well as a sadistic and murderouspsychopath.[42] The character is also known by several nicknames, including "the Clown Prince of Crime".[43][44]
The 1989 filmClownhouse, written and directed byVictor Salva, concerns brothers who are attacked in their own home by escaped mental patients dressed as clowns.[54]
The most famous professional wrestling depiction of an evil clown wasDoink the Clown, a persona originated in 1992 by professional wrestlerMatt Osborne in theWorld Wrestling Federation. Originally, the gimmick was that of a sadistic, evil clown, playing cruel tricks on fans and wrestlers to amuse himself and put them off guard; to help gain heat for the character, he was placed in a storyline feud withCrush, wherein Doink, after faking an injury, sneak-attacked Crush with a loaded prosthetic arm.[55] The evil clown gimmick would be dropped later in 1993 as he turned face.
Violator, a supervillain demon appearing in theSpawn comic books published byImage Comics, is commonly depicted in the form of "Clown", a balding, overweight man with blue facepaint.[56]
Sweet Tooth, a character in theTwisted Metal video game series.[57] Sweet Tooth the Clown fromTwisted Metal (2012) is a man wearing a psychotic clown mask with a flaming head and carrying a large machete. He drives a weaponised ice-cream van with the same clown face on the roof.
The 2009BBC comedy programmePsychoville features a protagonist named Mr Jelly, "[a]n embittered hook-handed clown and children's entertainer."[61]
The horror film seriesKilljoy features a demonic killer clown as its main antagonist.[62]
InPuella Magi Madoka Magica, one of the most powerful Witches is one that looks like a medieval jester attached to giant cogs. Nicknamed "Walpurgisnacht", she flies around with her familiars like a mad circus troupe, laying waste to any city in her path in a fashion similar to tornadoes or hurricanes.[63][64]
In the 2012anthology horror filmScary or Die, a drug dealer is bitten by a clown at a birthday party, and he begins to transform into a cannibalistic clown himself.[65]
The 2012 filmStitches features a murderous birthday clown, portrayed byRoss Noble, who is resurrected from the dead in order to enact revenge upon the children who contributed to his death.[66]
The FX horror anthology seriesAmerican Horror Story used two instances of evil clowns: The first being Twisty the Clown from the fourth seasonFreak Show, who made a cameo appearance inCult where the season's antagonist created a murderous clown cult to orchestrate his rise to political power.[68]
The 2014 filmTheatre of Fear, directed byAndrew Jones, features a murderous clown character played byNathan Head.[69]
The 2014 horror filmClown, directed byJon Watts and produced byEli Roth, follows a man who, upon finding and wearing a clown suit, becomes trapped in the cursed skin of an ancientNordic demon known as the "Clöyne".[70][71]
A 2018 update to the 2016 asymmetrical horror gameDead by Daylight added a new killer called The Clown, whose appearance and backstory fit the evil clown archetype.
^The term is listed by theOnline Etymology Dictionary (Harper, Douglas."coulrophobia".Online Etymology Dictionary.) with the caveat that it "looks suspiciously like the sort of thing idle pseudo-intellectuals invent on the Internet and which every smarty-pants takes up thereafter". The prefixcoulro- is "said to be built from Greekkolon 'limb,' with some supposed sense of 'stilt-walker,' hence 'clown'" (i.e. Greekκωλοβαθριστήςkolobathristes "stilt-walker").Probably coined no earlier than the late 1980s but no later than the 1990s, the term "has been coined more on the Internet than in printed form because it does not appear in any previously published, psychiatric, unabridged, or abridged dictionary." (Robertson 2003:62)TheOxford Dictionary of English adopted the term in 2010, also deriving it fromkolobatheron "stilt" (Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), "coulrophobia noun",Oxford Dictionary of English (online ed.), Oxford University Press,ISBN978-0-19-957112-3, retrieved14 March 2011)
^Steinberg, Steve (25 January 2003). "Nightmare with a red nose".Dallas Morning News.Coulrophobia has spread to the Web, where sufferers can vent on sites such as ihateclowns.com and clownz.com.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Media related toCreepy clowns at Wikimedia Commons
