# I Don't Get It: Why Do Some People Get Freaked Out By Clowns? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2002, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473 "2002-05-11T11:18:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/21 "2002-05-12T03:05:49Z")
[Near pointless hijack] Out of curiousity, I went to the IMDb to check on the age of the actor that played the boy in the movie **Poltergeist** (his real name is Oliver Robins). As I suspected, he’s fairly close to my age, born about two years earlier than me. What freaked me out was the bit of trivia in his [biography section](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Robins,+Oliver): > [@](#): > > While filming the scene where the clown doll scene where it comes alive and tries to pull him under his bed. Oliver went through a near-death experience; the puppet grabbed his legs too hard and cut off his circulation. Steven Spielberg thought he was acting (he even yelled “Keep going! You’re doing great!”), it was only until he saw his face turn red that he realized he was in trouble. Spielberg ran over and pulled the puppet off, saving Oliver’s life. See what I mean? Even clown puppets are _bad news_. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/22 "2002-05-12T15:23:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heptapod \* > **Grinning skulls with bloodied lips and flamelike hair.** That pretty much sums it up. Clowns are nasty pieces of work. They don’t actually _scare_ me, but I do find them repulsive. They seem to radiate this subtle twisted sexuality of a violent sort. Maybe it’s the news reports over the years of “Mr Bubbles”-type paedophilia cases, or the fact that circus employees are weird anyway, but I definitely see something really sick in the face of a clown. Oh yes, and they’re not funny. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2002, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/23 "2002-05-12T20:06:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Atreyu \* > > 1. The movie **Poltergeist**. If you’ve seen it, then you know the scene that I’m thinking of. I was about the exact same age as the boy in the movie when I first saw it. It remains to this day the _only_ scene in the movie that has ever bothered me. \*\* I don’t know if it’s still there, but it used to be that on the site Muffin mentioned there was a place for people to submit their reasons for their fear. This movie is one of the biggest reasons people mentioned. The only other reasons that got as much mention were Stephen King’s **IT** and bad circus/birthday party experiences. Seeing **Poltergeist** at age four was the catalyst for what has been a life-long fear of clowns in my case, anyway… ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/24 "2002-05-13T07:28:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ruffian \* > \*\*(Actually, some are “furries” and find them all very sexually arousing…explain _that_ one.) \*\* That’s an incorrect statement, but to keep this hijack short, I won’t go into it. Search through the archives or e-mail me if you want to know more. ---
**Author:** ![LolaBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/25 "2002-05-13T08:17:30Z")
You know, I never saw Poltergeist. I guess I have to, now. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/26 "2002-05-13T11:05:45Z")
Clowns… Clowns… Clowns… I hate clowns… almost as much as I hate mimes… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/27 "2002-05-13T13:19:32Z")
What about **Killer Clowns from Outer Space**? That movie left me feeling icky for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/28 "2002-05-13T15:49:47Z")
" . . . and I took a trophy for Tramp a year later." —So did I, in college! I . . . Oh, wait a minute, you meant . . . Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/29 "2002-05-13T17:25:55Z")
I always thought they were minorly freaky, but I met a guy in college who was REALLY scared of them. His father would dress up as a clown and stand outside his window, tapping on the glass and saying “Mikey, the clowns will eat you.” Needless to say, the old man had some issues with childraising. Also needless to say, Mike hates clowns deeply. Seeing as how Mike is also a 300 lb. ex-Marine, I pity the clowns. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/30 "2002-05-13T23:34:01Z")
“While filming the scene where the clown doll scene where it comes alive and tries to pull him under his bed. Oliver went through a near-death experience; the puppet grabbed his legs too hard and cut off his circulation. Steven Spielberg thought he was acting (he even yelled “Keep going! You’re doing great!”), it was only until he saw his face turn red that he realized he was in trouble. Spielberg ran over and pulled the puppet off, saving Oliver’s life” Wow… that was really something… if I remember the scene correctly the clown doll was grabbing him by the ankles. So, if it grabbed too tight and cut off his circluation… wait a minute while I check my anatomy book… hmmm, that would be to his feet. Wow… his feet got all tingley and almost fell asleep. Spielberg saved him with only… years… to spare. What a close one. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/31 "2002-05-14T05:01:02Z")
I’ve always hated clowns because when I was a kid a clown killed my dad. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/32 "2002-05-14T05:25:24Z")
Hmmm… seems like I’ve heard that before. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/33 "2002-05-14T16:50:32Z")
Well, it happens a lot. Which would be reason enough to fear clowns, you’d think. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/34 "2002-05-14T18:37:49Z")
Delphica, you nailed it. I hate clowns, dolls, and crash test dummies. But get this…I actually WAS a clown at a local restaurant at one time. It didn’t bother me in the least to be on the other side of the make-up. But here’s the thing about dolls. Barbies are OK. Baby dolls are OK. It’s the ones dressed up in “Gone With The Wind” dresses and big hats and shit like that who scare the bejeezus outta me. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/35 "2002-05-14T18:51:46Z")
I’m not scared of clowns; I usually just find them boring and uninteresting. Plus there has been a glut of third rate clowns over the past couple of decades. People take a class in clowning and think it makes them the life of the party, but they really have no talent for it. As compensation, they get loud and aggressive, and scare kids. Now a professional clown – the type employed by a circus, not one who does kid’s birthday parties – can be funny and (if you remember Emmit Kelly, poignant). But you hardly ever see that kind of clown (who goes to the circus any more?). ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2002, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473/36 "2002-05-14T20:43:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > \*\*Clowns… Clowns… Clowns… > I hate clowns… > > almost as much as I hate mimes… \*\* Yep, clowns and mimes bad. Marionettes also bad. The worst would be a clown-mime with a clown marionette. :shudder: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-it-why-do-some-people-get-freaked-out-by-clowns/108473.md?page=1)