WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Why Are Some People Afraid of Clowns?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogebam here with another classic episode for

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<v Speaker 1>you from our erstwhile host and horror aficionado, Christian Sager.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been thinking about this one because I'm also a

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<v Speaker 1>horror fan and have been watching some films in that

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<v Speaker 1>genre while we've all been isolating, and there are so

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<v Speaker 1>many clown monsters in recent horror. Also because some very

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<v Speaker 1>dear friends of mine have trained in clowning. I've seen

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<v Speaker 1>some amazing, beautiful performances, and some of those friends even

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<v Speaker 1>use those styles and those skills to go into hospitals

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<v Speaker 1>and help bring laughter into the lives of children and

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<v Speaker 1>seniors and their families there. So this episode is why

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<v Speaker 1>are some people afraid of clowns? Ay brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>Christian Sager? When's the last time you saw a clown

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<v Speaker 1>in person? And did you enjoy the experience? Maybe you're

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<v Speaker 1>one of the people who just doesn't like these jokers,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 buffoons, but they still had the

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>pronounced in the modern day when the notorious serial killer

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<v Speaker 1>John Wayne Gazey was finally apprehended. The public saw numerous

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 Penny Wise from It, the Joker

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>Linda Rodriguez McRobie believes people have a fundamental discomfort with

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<v Speaker 1>clowns because their fiscial expressions cannot be trusted and unfaltering

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

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>mentioning Freud's concept of the uncanny valley, the idea 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. Today's episode was written by Ben Bollen

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clain. For more in this amounts

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<v Speaker 1>of other topics, Is it how stuff works dot com.

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