The recent sightings of clowns have been all over the
news as of late. Most news articles are either about the election or these
creepy clowns. They have been known to stalk after women and children, chase
after people with knives, and are often times just standing on the side of the
road late at night.
This is apparently not the first time clowns have been creeping around. Back in the 1980’s there were events similar to this and Loren Coleman called it the “Phantom Clown Theory”; connects the clown sightings with media hysterics. In England of 2008, there was a study conducted to see the likeness of clowns and it was discovered that the amount of kids that actually like clowns are few and far between. It helps explain why people find Ronald McDonald to be so creepy and unlikable.
So why are we so weirded out by clowns? Frank McAndrews goes into depth about why we find clowns to be so creepy. Clowns (and jesters) were made as a sort of satire to poke fun at powerful people and make the audience laugh. They are goofy and silly. It wasn’t until the 70’s that the killer clown became a thing. John Wayne Gacy was a normal clown, until it was discovered that he had murdered 33 people in costume. After that, Hollywood took the creepy, killer clown persona and ran with it. McAndrews explains one reason we can get creeped out is because of the ambiguity of a situation; not knowing how to react to someone’s behaviors. He conducted a study for those of 18-77 and asked them to rate creepy jobs, behaviors, and to agree/disagree with statements about creepy people. It was found that men are more likely to be thought of as creepy and that body language is very important. Being a clown was rated in the top 5 of creepy jobs. Another psychologist, Rami Nader, says that we find clowns so creepy because they wear a lot of makeup and hide who they really are.
It plays in with the ambiguity, the unknown. They are made to look happy, but are they really? And with the pranks they pull, can we even trust them? There's a lot of mysteries to them and not all are bad, but remember to be careful!
This is apparently not the first time clowns have been creeping around. Back in the 1980’s there were events similar to this and Loren Coleman called it the “Phantom Clown Theory”; connects the clown sightings with media hysterics. In England of 2008, there was a study conducted to see the likeness of clowns and it was discovered that the amount of kids that actually like clowns are few and far between. It helps explain why people find Ronald McDonald to be so creepy and unlikable.
So why are we so weirded out by clowns? Frank McAndrews goes into depth about why we find clowns to be so creepy. Clowns (and jesters) were made as a sort of satire to poke fun at powerful people and make the audience laugh. They are goofy and silly. It wasn’t until the 70’s that the killer clown became a thing. John Wayne Gacy was a normal clown, until it was discovered that he had murdered 33 people in costume. After that, Hollywood took the creepy, killer clown persona and ran with it. McAndrews explains one reason we can get creeped out is because of the ambiguity of a situation; not knowing how to react to someone’s behaviors. He conducted a study for those of 18-77 and asked them to rate creepy jobs, behaviors, and to agree/disagree with statements about creepy people. It was found that men are more likely to be thought of as creepy and that body language is very important. Being a clown was rated in the top 5 of creepy jobs. Another psychologist, Rami Nader, says that we find clowns so creepy because they wear a lot of makeup and hide who they really are.
It plays in with the ambiguity, the unknown. They are made to look happy, but are they really? And with the pranks they pull, can we even trust them? There's a lot of mysteries to them and not all are bad, but remember to be careful!
J.M
McAndrew, Frank T., and The Conversation US. "Why
Clowns Creep Us Out."Scientific American. N.p., 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 08
Oct. 2016.
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