Clowns are Not my Friends

Coulrophobia- the fear of clowns

from Wikipedia(my source for all things clown related)
Coulrophobia is abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. The term is common, but it does not appear to be used in psychology. The condition is common among children(my kids have no issue with clowns), but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults(ding! ding! ding!). Sufferers sometimes acquire a fear of clowns after a bad experience with one personally. It can also be caused by seeing a sinister portrayal of a clown in the media,such as the monster that took on the disguise of a clown in Stephen King's novel and film It.(I will assure you all, I WILL NEVER READ that novel. I watched enough of the TV miniseries to get the idea of the storyline, and I thought it was ridiculous that the white make-up wearing evil clown dude was way more scary than a big ass spider. Stephen, I love you and respect your talent, but you had that one way wrong, dude. A spider will NEVER be scarier than a grinning fang toothed mother effing clown that stares out at you from sewer drains. NEVER.)

Coulrophobia can also be said to extend to a fear of covering up one's face with paint—the idea of hiding recognisable features under a layer of face paint can also unsettle coulrophobia sufferers.(not true, I have no problem with mimes. freaky and creepy with the whole, "let me pretend to be in a box and this is considered entertainment" thing, but I don't run screaming from them.)

In July 2006 the Bestival, a three-day music festival held in England, had to withdraw a request to festival goers to come dressed as clowns due to the unexpectedly high rate of coulrophobia among the potential audience. (how did I miss that invite? Beastival sounds like a great little party.)


for your viewing pleasure....no scary clowns are in here, I promise
Lady is Scared to Death of Clowns - Coulrophobia
OK, I'm not as bad as this chick, but I can totally feel for her. Her gripping "Parsley, the friendly sheep" is a bit...different for an adult woman, however. I'm sensing there may be more issues at work here other than just the clown thing.

and I'll leave you all with one last VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION!
do not, under any circumstance, google "fear of clowns" unless you want an upclose and fullscreen picture of that mother effer from Stephen King's "It" on your computer. I may or may not have screamed so loud that my husband brought me a glass of wine in a sippy cup last night.


TRUE STORY UPDATE- on my way home from work, I saw this license plate next to me at a red light. you see, I am not alone in this life!!!!!