Does this photo make you tense up? Do the words “creepy” or “freaky” come to mind? Are your palms sweating, or is your heart rate increasing?
If you’re feeling hostile or panicked looking at this picture, you may suffer from coulrophobia, or a fear of clowns. From the ancient Greek word for “one who walks on stilts,” we get “coulro” followed by “phobia,” which is Greek for fear.
Clowns were originally meant to entertain children, so how did we end up with the “evil clown” archetype? We can thank Stephen King, whose book It from 1986 popularized the concept. Once his clown Pennywise corrupted our imaginations, there was no looking back (except to make sure a clown wasn’t following us). Here are some of the creepiest clowns we hope to never run into.
Ronald McDonald
As kids, we loved this guy. But looking at him now, he does look a little sketchy. That wig, the distorted mouth and the bright red and yellow color combo makes us want to take a step back and look for an exit. As the mascot for the fast-food chain McDonald’s, Ronald McDonald was first played by Willard Scott (who also played Bozo the Clown) back in 1963. Ronald McDonald is the second-most recognizable face, after Santa Clause, in the world.
‘Killer Clowns from Outer Space’
This horror-comedy from 1988 features some truly outlandish clowns. When these aliens land in a small town in America, the humans fail to see them as a threat because of their clownish appearance and their toy-like weapons. Big mistake!
Krusty the Clown
First introduced in 1989 on the TV show The Simpsons, Krusty was partially meant to be a dark parody of TV clown Rusty Nails with a voice like that of the ’70s-era Bozo the Clown. A smoker and heavy drinker, Krusty hosts the fictional Krusty the Clown Show, featuring a Simpson kid-favorite sketch, The Itchy and Scratchy Show. Creator Matt Groening purposefully made Krusty look like Homer Simpson in grotesque clown makeup.
‘Zombieland’
This 2009 horror-comedy starring Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson is about a clown-apocalypse, where the country is overrun with undead clowns. Clown zombies seem to represent the worst of American culture and are frightening on multiple levels.
‘Stitches’
Stitches the Clown (Ross Noble), is absolutely terrible at his job as a clown, and kids hate him. While performing at a child’s birthday party, he falls and dies after a kid ties his shoelaces together. Six years later, Stitches comes back from the dead to avenge his death.
‘Poltergeist’
The original Poltergeist movie from 1982 took full advantage of the creepy clown concept. In the film, poor little Robbie (Oliver Robins) gets attacked by a clown doll, turning a whole generation of kids against clowns.
‘Killjoy’
Juvenile delinquents — watch out! Killjoy (Ángel Vargas) is a demonic clown dead-set on killing troublemakers. The franchise includes the films Killjoy 2: Deliverance from Evil,Killjoy 3:Killjoy Goes to Hell and Killjoy’s Psycho Circus.
Kriss the Clown
In Katy Perry’s music video “Birthday,” she dresses up as five of the worst children’s birthday party performers of all time. Not only is Kriss the Clown drunk, she has zero talent for making balloon sculptures.
Twisty from ‘AHS: Freak Show’
John Carroll Lynch plays Twisty the Clown as part of Season 4’s Freak Show, where we learned that his face is deformed from a failed suicide attempt with a shotgun. The good news is that Twisty is returning for AHS’s Season 7, Cult.
Ballerina twins
This strange photo (left) inspired the Masked Ballerina twins (right) in the 2016 film Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Played by Joseph and Thomas Odwell, these kids are the double-trouble stuff of nightmares.
Underwater clowns
At Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai, China, these conjuring clowns perform magic tricks in an underwater tank for a live crowd, combining two phobias: coulrophobia and aquaphobia.
‘Laugh, Clown, Laugh’
Going all the way back to 1928, this silent movie starring Lon Chaney as Tito, an incredibly morose clown, might have originated the genre of creepy clown movies. Chaney, who often did his own makeup, was famous for playing tortured, often monstrous characters like the Phantom of the Opera and the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Gaggle of Macy’s parade clowns
What’s worse than one creepy clown? An entire army of them. In 2010 at the 83rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, this group of freaky pink and blue clowns took to the streets of New York in one of the worst parade ideas we’ve ever seen.
‘It’
In this remake of the classic Stephen King story It, Bill Skarsgård plays the evil clown Pennywise, reprising the role from the TV miniseries that actor Tim Curry made famous in 1990. It opens in theaters Sept. 8.
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