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" Did you see the clown in the woods ? "
On Aug. 26 , 2016 , Greenville , South Carolina , nonmigratory Donna Arnoldtold FOX Carolinathat she had contacted the Greenville County Sheriff ’s Office after her son and other child reported seeing a clown near their flat complex . Arnold say that " about 30 Kyd " asked her if she had seen the clown .
A medieval jester’s life wasn’t all laughs. “Laughing Fool”, attributed to Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, ca. 1500.
freaky as it voice , this was n’t the first clown sighting in Greenville County that week , nor was it the last . On Aug. 24 of that year , the property manager in Arnold ’s flat building complex post a notice warning residents about " a person lop in buffoon clothing " who was allegedly trying to entice children into the woodwind instrument . And on Aug. 31 , a 13 - twelvemonth - honest-to-god boy claimed he ascertain a human garnish as a clown knocking on the front door of the boy ’s base .
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The Isle of Man was wearing " a painted mask with orange hair,“the boy told FOX Carolina . The boy ’s mother supply in an audience that she came home as soon as she could , but when she got there , the clown was gone .
A medieval jester’s life wasn’t all laughs. “Laughing Fool”, attributed to Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, ca. 1500.
As of Sept. 7 , 2016 , Greenville officials had received reports of four clown sightings within the urban center limits , Police Chief Ken Miller told reporters at a press conference . Miller did n’t crack a smile when he said , " The clowning around needs to stop . "
Whether the Greenville buffoon , or goofball , gravel a menace still remains to be watch . But theunease and fear that clown can inspire — even in less ominous circumstances — is no laughing matter . Experts narrate Live Science that many masses have electronegative association with clowns in oecumenical , even though the characters are supposed to bring laugh . Why do clowns elicit such unpleasant emotions ?
Not always harmless
Entertainers who get into funny rig and makeup and behave unwisely for the entertainment of others have existed for thousands of geezerhood . Accounts from ancient Egypt , Chinaand Greece refer to clowns and jesters as member of regal entourages , Smithsonian.com reported . Jesters and fools were also far-flung in knightly courts across Europe .
But the humor of these type was n’t always harmless . Secure in their status as jokers , majestic motley fool could direct amusingly insulting potshots at even the king himself , tell Ben Radford , source of " Bad Clowns " ( University of New Mexico Press , April 2016 ) , which explore the grim account of these comical clown .
" A fool might make a wily jest about how many mistresses a queen had or how fat he was , " Radford say Live Science . " Their role earmark them to do that . As the motley fool , they were the only person in the realm who would be give that license . "
The demonic Pennywise (Tim Curry) terrorized a group of children in the television miniseries “It” (1990), based on the horror novel by Stephen King.
By comparing , what is now seen as a distinctive buffoon — a circus performer with a wide , paint grin , red nose and oversized shoe — is a relative newcomer , emerging in the last century or so , Radford explain . As to why multitude might fear clowns , Radford suggested that the heavy , mask - like makeupcould cause unease because it obscures a buffoon ’s true expression .
" There ’s something inherently menacing about a masked stranger , " Radford tell .
Agents of the dark side
Clowns also have qualities that can appear suspiciously otherworldly , Radford told Live Science . They can ram 20 of their friends into a bantam car . They can unfurl endless scarves or squirt water from flowered boutonnieres . So it ’s no curiosity that children , or even adults , in a clown ’s interview might be lean to plug into the figures to the supernatural .
And for some people , theunpredictability of clownsmakes them frightening , said Kristin Kunkle , a clinical psychologist at the Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders .
" They deplume things out of their arm . They blow up balloons and then pop them , " Kunkle said . " They do thing that bring on a rush of emotion that some people might be excited about and some people might find overwhelming . "
Not all clowns are trying to scare you. Pipo (here portrayed by Cor Witschge) was a popular (and nonthreatening) clown character on the Dutch television series “Pipo de Clown” (1958-1980).
It probably has n’t helped that in recent decade , a number of revulsion movies and TV shows have conspicuously feature joyfully unholy clowns , such as the costume exotic invaders in " Killer Klowns from Outer Space " ( 1988 ) , Pennywise from " It " ( 1990 ) , Killjoy from the ongoing " Killjoy " film series ( launched in 2000 ) , and Captain Spaulding from " House of 1000 corpse " ( 2003 ) and " The Devil ’s Rejects " ( 2005 ) .
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Batman ’s villainous nemesis the Joker is another murderous example of a military personnel whose clown makeup and maniacal grin accompany heinous crimes and malefic deed . The Joker first appear in the debut issue of the Batman comic Good Book , in 1940 , and has since cackled his way across television screen in both live - natural process and alive series , and in movies , from " Batman " ( 1989 ) to " Suicide Squad " ( 2016 ) .
But perhaps the chilling instance of all is the so - call " Killer Clown " : veridical - biography serial killer and raper John Wayne Gacy , Jr. A professional clown , Gacy was convict in 1980 of sexually rape and murdering at least 33 young men and boys , many of whom he bury under his house .
Fear and loathing
Any of these terrifying examples could instigate a feeling of at leastmild uneasearound clowns , even in someone who has never had a negative experience with such a character in real life story , Radford say . But some people undergo a more severe chemical reaction : an intense and uncontrollable fear of clown , also known as coulrophobia . The American Psychiatric Association ’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fifth Edition ( DSM-5 ) includes coulrophobia in the " specific phobia " group , code 300.29 .
And as a phobia , it is " fairly common , " Kunkle told Live Science , distinguish coulrophobia as one of the fears that she and her fellow ask about when conduct anxiety assessment with unexampled patients .
" If someone has a goofball phobia , they might have an anxiety reply just from looking at a picture of a clown , " Kunkle said .
Clinical phobias differ from typical anxiety in the stiffness of the person ’s emotional reply to the objective of fear , and how much that response affects the person ’s life history , read Scott Woodruff , a psychologist with the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York City .
" For the modal individual , buffoon are n’t frightfully relevant , soexperiencing fearwhen control clowns once or twice a year probably would n’t merit treatment , " Woodruff told Live Science in an electronic mail .
" On the other hand , a father who avoids all child natal day company just in case a clown shows up very well might desire help , " Woodruff add .
handle a clown phobia — orany eccentric of phobia — is typically done using a proficiency called photo therapy , with the patient role incrementally increasing his or her photograph to whatever stimulate the concern , Woodruff explained .
Someone undergo handling for a clown phobia would n’t confront a clown face - to - face on the first day , Woodruff said . Rather , the person might start by looking at picture of a clown . When the somebody feel well-off with that , the degree of challenge would increase . The person could progress to watching movie scenes featuring clown , or observing a buffoon from a length .
" Over fourth dimension , customer learn they areable to tolerate the hurt , which often declines dramatically , " Woodruff told Live Science .
Terrifying the master of terror
But if you ’re spooked by clowns , you ’re in good company . Writer Stephen King , famed master of the revulsion - fiction genre and Jehovah of the demonic goofball Pennywise in the novel " It , " told theBangor Daily Newson Sept. 9 that " clowns really can be terrifying . "
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King admitted that seeing a clown outside of the character ’s typical context , such as a circus or a birthday political party , could be redoubtable — yes , even for him .
" If I saw a merry andrew lurk under a lonely bridge ( or peering up at me from a sewer grate , with or without balloons ) , I ’d be frightened , too , " King tell .
goofball phobias aside , a distinctive circus or birthday party clown is unlikely to have anyone harm . However , officials in Greenville are still on the lookout for people behaving suspiciously while dressed as clowns , and have announced plans to arrest and charge anyone transgress support metropolis ordinances against wear costumes and identity - concealing masks in public spaces .
Unless , of course , it happens to be Halloween .
in the beginning print on Live Science .
