WEBVTT - Why Are Some People Afraid of Clowns?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. A brain

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<v Speaker 1>stuff is Christian Seger. When the last time you saw

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<v Speaker 1>a clown in person, and did you enjoy the experience.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you're one of the people who just doesn't like

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<v Speaker 1>these jokers, or maybe it's more serious than a passing dislike.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you have what some call cole rephobia, an intense

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<v Speaker 1>and excessive fear of clowns. But where does it come from?

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<v Speaker 1>Why are people afraid of clowns? There's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>speculation here, much of which hinges on history and psychology.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's look at the history first. Jesters, clowns and other

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<v Speaker 1>silly entertainers are an ancient tradition. The modern day bozos

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<v Speaker 1>and Joey's are softer, sanitized versions of the ancient trickster.

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<v Speaker 1>Archetype evidence indicates pygmy clowns entertained the Egyptian elite thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of years ago, and these ancestors of clowns were worlds

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<v Speaker 1>away from our modern bufood wounds, but they still had

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<v Speaker 1>the basics down garish clothing and more importantly, the manic

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<v Speaker 1>ability to do or say taboo things without consequence. The

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<v Speaker 1>prototypes of contemporary clowns are generally thought to be Joseph

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<v Speaker 1>Grimaldi and John Gaspard de Bourou, both of whom had

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<v Speaker 1>pretty unpleasant lives off stage. Grimaldi died penniless, and alcoholic

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<v Speaker 1>Deberus killed the boy. It's true this contrast became even

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<v Speaker 1>more pronounced in the modern day. When the notorious serial

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<v Speaker 1>killer John Wayne Gayzey was finely apprehended. The public saw

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<v Speaker 1>numerous photos of his clown persona, and he famously said,

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<v Speaker 1>a clown can get away with anything. Since that time,

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<v Speaker 1>the public perception of clowns has changed. In the West,

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<v Speaker 1>people don't seem to associate clowns with mere tomfoolery anymore. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>we see a duality, a bland veneer of joviality covering

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<v Speaker 1>something unknown and sinister. Today, some of fiction's greatest villains

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<v Speaker 1>are evil clowns. There's Pennywise from It, the Joker from Batman,

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<v Speaker 1>and of course the Killer Clowns from outer Space. So

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<v Speaker 1>from a folklore or cultural perspective, society has altered our

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<v Speaker 1>perception of clowns. But what about the psychology. Author Linda

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<v Speaker 1>Rodriguez mcrabbie believes people have a fundamental discomfort with clowns

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<v Speaker 1>because their fishal expressions cannot be trusted, and unfaltering painted

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<v Speaker 1>smile breeds distrust in an audience. Psychologists like Dr Brenda

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<v Speaker 1>Widerhold agree. She notes that a fear of clowns or

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<v Speaker 1>other costume strangers begins around the age of two, when

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<v Speaker 1>kids start having anxiety about encountering strangers and are still

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<v Speaker 1>not always able to separate reality and fantasy. And we

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<v Speaker 1>can't talk about this sort of psychology without also mentioning

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<v Speaker 1>Freud's concept of the uncanny valley. The idea uh that

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<v Speaker 1>when something seems simultaneously familiar yet oddly unfamiliar, it produces revulsion.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the same principle people get creeped out by

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<v Speaker 1>by lifelike robots with their ever so slightly off facial expressions.

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<v Speaker 1>Most people grow out of the sphere as they age,

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<v Speaker 1>but a minority of the population carries it into adulthood.

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<v Speaker 1>The concept of scary clowns has picked up steam in

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<v Speaker 1>recent decades, and colophobia itself isn't a term that arrives

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<v Speaker 1>from psychology, while it describes a real phenomenon. It popped

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<v Speaker 1>up on the Internet as early as the two thousands,

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<v Speaker 1>with claims dating back to the nineteen eighties. So, in

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<v Speaker 1>some ways this could just be a fad, but if so,

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<v Speaker 1>it is a fad built on solid psychological and cultural roots.

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<v Speaker 1>The concept of the evil clown exists now and isn't

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<v Speaker 1>going away anytime soon, which is a bit of a shame.

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<v Speaker 1>Clowning has gotten a bad rap, and a largely unfair

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<v Speaker 1>one at that. Check out the brainstuff channel on YouTube,

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<v Speaker 1>and for more on this and thousands of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuff works dot com.