Clowns – What Evil Is Hiding Behind That Painted Face

Clowns are indeed a mystery. They seem to be goodness and happiness personified. But what’s underneath the colourful costumes and gaudy makeup? Are they as we see them, or is there something more sinister waiting for the appropriate time to appear? Let’s look at the history of clowns.

Clowns Just Wanna Have Fun

When I was a young child many, many, many years ago, clowns made people laugh and have fun, especially children. The first clown I remember was Clarabell the Clown from The Howdy Doody Show. It was a kid’s show on TV from 1947 to 1960. It is one of the fond memories of my childhood. Clarabell wore a striped, baggy costume. He never spoke but just communicated with mime or by honking one of two horns labelled “Yes” or “No”. Clarabell spoke only once at the end of the last show when he whispered, “Goodbye, kids.” Those were indeed the days when clowns were only there to entertain children.

Then, something happened to change my feelings about clowns. When I was nine, my mother took me to a parade. At that parade, there were members of the Shriners, a club for men who volunteered in the community with charitable organizations. Many of them dressed as clowns, and some of them were riding little motorbikes.

Suddenly, one of the clowns grabbed me from the crowd and carried me over to their float. Well, I was terrified. The float was moving down the street, leaving my mother behind. I later discovered that the clown was my uncle, Jack, but I had no way of knowing that at the time. That was the moment when my love of clowns ended. I’m not afraid of clowns, but I don’t trust them.

Clowns Throughout History

Joseph Grimaldi’s character, Joey, was the first to include a white face, large red lips and colourful clothes as part of his persona. For that, he is considered the “father of modern clowning”. His character first appeared in the early 1800s. Since then, virtually every clown has a white face, big red lips, and a brightly-coloured costume. He was a leader in the biz.

Emmett Kelly took a different approach to clowning with his character, Weary Willie. He differed from modern-day, happy clowns in that he always looked down and out and depressed. He was the image of a depression-era hobo riding the rails. Well, each clown must have their own “thing”. Otherwise, how would you remember one from the other?

Ronald McDonald is easily recognized because of his last name. He first appeared in the early 1960s as the spokesperson, or spokesclown if you will, for McDonald’s fast food restaurants. Ronald can be blamed for child obesity in North America as fast food is not particularly healthy, especially for children. He was very popular with the kids but is no longer a significant part of McDonald’s advertising.

Now we come to Krusty the Clown from the hit TV series The Simpsons. What can we say about Krusty? Well, he’s absolutely hilarious and one of the most popular characters on The Simpsons. However, he is not a clown you would want your kids exposed to as a role model. He smokes, drinks, gambles, and carries on with women. But then, The Simpsons never was meant to be a children’s show.

Clowns Look Human, But Do They?

So why are people distrusting of clowns or hesitant around them? Well, first of all, it’s their looks. Clowns look human. Well, sort of. They have the same parts as humans, but everything is magnified or distorted in some way, from the colour of their faces to the size and shape of their features. Of course, humans have noses, but they’re not round, red, and stuck in the middle of a pure white face unless they’d been drinking the night before. And what about those shoes? How can they even walk in those oversized, floppy things? And who wears such bright colours to work every day? So, they stick out like the proverbial sore thumb. They’re human but don’t look like any human I know.

They’re also very unpredictable. You never know what they will do next, always playing practical jokes on each other and the audience. They can be exciting and funny, but they can be very unnerving and even scary if you don’t know what they will do next. Now, let’s look at the really frightening world of clowns.

How Did We Go From Silly Fun to Scary “Killer Clowns”?

On March 13, 1980, John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to death for the sexual assault and murder of 33 young men and boys in the Chicago, Illinois, area of the United States. He was on death row until May 10, 1994, when he was put to death by lethal injection.

Now, this essay has taken a strange turn. What does this mass murderer have to do with clowns? In his free time, when he was not looking for someone to murder, Gacy performed at children’s hospitals as Pogo the Clown or Patches the Clown. He subsequently became known as the “Killer Clown”.

Art Imitates Life

So, how did killer clowns become part of pop culture? Well, let’s blame Stephen King. He is the master of fright. He can take even the most mundane people or situations and turn them into the most frightening stories you can imagine, or he can imagine. I’ve read many of his books and enjoyed most of what I read in a macabre sort of way, but they definitely gave me the heebie-jeebies.

This “killer clown” thing in pop culture media seems to have started in 1986 with the release of the movie It, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. It’s about a clown named Pennywise who lures children to manhole covers. He then drags them down into the sewers and murders them.

Life Imitates Art

At the beginning of August 2016, a clown scare started in the city of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the United States. It quickly spread to almost all states, many parts of Canada, and then to many other countries worldwide. Over the next three months, there were numerous reports of people spotting clowns in unusual places. They were seen in parking lots, under bridges, and wandering aimlessly in the woods. There were even some reports of attempted abductions of children.

There was a theory that these unusual clown sitings began as a publicity stunt for an upcoming movie. However, it soon got out of hand, and some people, especially children, were quite afraid.

It was a problem because the height of this situation was close to Halloween. Stores pulled clown masks and costumes from their shelves due to public concern. Schools warned children not to dress up as clowns at Halloween because they could find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation with so many people in the general population aware and even afraid of this clown phenomenon. And then, it ended just as quickly as it had begun.

Some people have a real fear of clowns. This phobia is known as coulrophobia (the fear of clowns). For more interest phobias, click here.

And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment

Here is Stealers Wheel 1972 recording of Stuck in the Middle with You, or if you prefer, here it is with the lyrics. Check it out. It is about clowns, in case you were wondering about the connection.

Editorial Comment

There is also a derogatory meaning of the word clown.

Urban Dictionary – “1. Someone who is a joke. 2. Someone who thinks they are important but messes everything up.”

YourDictionary – “A coarse, rude, vulgar person; a boor. A person who constantly plays the fool, makes jokes, etc.; buffoon.”

Some might say that the person above fits this definition of a clown, but who am I to judge? However, for those people, the exact phrase would be, “What a clown!”

The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.

Vocabulary

• gaudy – adjective; tastelessly or extravagantly bright or showy; unnecessarily bright
• sinister – adjective; suggestive of evil; evil
• mime – noun; by gesture and expression without using words; talking with hands or movement
• parade – noun; a public march or procession; a long line of people in costumes and decorations for entertainment
• float – noun; a vehicle carrying a display in a parade; a decorated vehicle in a parade
• persona – noun; an aspect of the personality as shown to or perceived by others; how others see you
• hobo – noun; a tramp or vagrant; an unskilled worker who moves from place to place; homeless by choice
• distorted – adjective; crooked or unshapely; looks different than normal
• proverbial – adjective; as well-known as a proverb; general truth; well-known saying
• unnerving – adjective; deprive of courage or confidence; makes you feel nervous or upset
• death row – noun; a prison block or section for prisoners sentenced to death; where prisoners wait to be executed, sometimes for years
• lethal injection – noun; an injection of various deadly chemicals used for capital punishment; drugs used to kill criminals
• pop culture – noun; commercial culture; based on popular taste; ideas or things popular in society today
• mundane – adjective; dull, routine; boring, not interesting, not exciting
• macabre – adjective; grim, gruesome; dealing with death; exciting feeling about something that is scary or disgusting
• heebie-jeebies – plural noun; slang; a state of nervous depression or anxiety; a scary and nervous feeling
• numerous – adjective; great in number; many
• phenomenon – noun; a fact, circumstance, or occurrence that appears or is perceived; situation
• derogatory – adjective; involving disparagement or discredit; insulting; disapproving; making fun of

Comprehension Questions

1. What did Clarabell say the only time he ever spoke?
2. Who is the mascot for McDonald’s?
   (a) Bozo the Clown, (b) Krusty the Clown, (c) Ronald McDonald, or (d) The Joker
3. Who was given the name “the Killer Clown”?
   (a) Clarabell, (b) Stephen King, (c) my uncle, Jack, or (d) John Wayne Gacy
4. Who wrote the novel entitled It?
5. What is the clown’s name in Stephen King’s novel It?
   (a) Pogo the Clown, (b) Pennywise, (c) Patches the Clown, or (d) Krusty the Clown
6. Was there a clown scare in your country in 2016?
   Yes or No?

Answers

Resources

• Wikipedia – Clarabell the Clown
• Britannica – 10 Famous Clowns: From Comical to Creepy
• Global News – Do clowns creep you out?
• Wikipedia – John Wayne Gacy
• Wikipedia – 2016 clown sightings