Coulrophobia: why are so many people afraid of clowns? (7 photos)
It is known that there are many phobias in the world - from the most innocent ones to those that cause enormous inconvenience to people and spoil the quality of life. 
But fear of clowns? Cheerful guys with rubber red noses and funny costumes? Strange.
This phobia is called coulrophobia. “Coulro”, translated from Greek, means “an actor who entertains the public.” A person suffering from this fear may be afraid not only of a personal meeting, but of an image in a movie or in pictures. 
When meeting a clown, a person may experience a real panic attack - palpitations, inability to breathe, tremors, numbness of the tongue and hands, and an uncontrollable fear of death. My ears are ringing, my head is spinning, all sounds become quieter. I want to call for help, to hide. In general, it’s so-so and it’s really difficult to explain to someone who has never experienced a panic attack.
It is clear that an unfortunate person with coulrophobia will try to avoid entertainment events and especially circuses. This is why, by the way, McDonald's abandoned the image of the famous Ronald McDonald. 
A specialist in the study of phobias, Adam Cox, said that society is to blame for the emergence of this phobia. No one is born with a fear of clowns by default. The root cause of the occurrence may be hidden in childhood experiences, if the baby was frightened by a children's animator or perhaps by an overly intrusive Santa Claus. 
That is, it could simply be a person dressed in bright clothes and wearing makeup. The face is hidden, therefore it is impossible to discern the intentions and this causes anxiety. A child's reaction to this is normal. 
Still from the film "Sad Ballad for Trumpet"
Clowns often look as if they have a frozen smile and it is difficult to imagine what they are really thinking about. A big mouth, huge shoes, massive clothes - this can be psychologically oppressive and unnerving. Especially if the clown has sad, “real” eyes and at the same time he “smiles” widely. By the way, studies and surveys have shown that, as a percentage, women are more afraid of clowns than men. 
Well, the influence of the media. There was a serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, who worked as a clown (but never killed in costume). But the media immediately dubbed him the “Killer Clown” and that is how the public remembered him.
Then there was the film “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” and when the novel “It” by Stephen King and its subsequent film adaptations came out, clowns became synonymous with horror. Then the Joker appeared, who, of course, is not a clown by nature, but that is exactly the image. 
John Wayne Gacy in suit
Terry Pratchett once said: "No clown looks funny. That's the whole point. People laugh when they see them, but only out of sheer nervousness. Clowns are there for one purpose only: after you've seen them and so on." "No matter what happens to you later, you will rejoice at it like a baby. It's nice to know that there is someone in the world who is now much worse off than you."
