Creepy Clowns: The Horror Behind the Laughter | Monstrum

When did clowns—the characters who filled our childhoods with juggling and balloons—become so creepy? For centuries, clowns have worn two faces: as irreverent entertainers, and tricksters who could break social norms. So when stories of scary clowns pop up all over popular culture, it's a sign that we're wondering who clowns really are behind the costume. Do they want to make us laugh? Or scream?

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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Written by: Taylor Behnke
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
Editor/Animator: Steven Simone
Illustrator: Samuel Allan
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music

Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program

Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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[mollywantshugs]

Remember: you can’t have slaughter without laughter

[nosmoker]

I used to wonder why the 2016 clown phenomenon didn’t seem to catch on here in Eastern Europe, but now I’m pretty sure that the harmless jokers would’ve invariably get assaulted. Great video, as always.

[GLSnifit]

One of my absolute favorite things about this series is Dr Z's wardrobe subtly reflecting the topic at hand. The oversized black suspenders are a great touch.

[Alexander_Stern]

My students were all freaking out in 2016 over the clown panic. I had to keep reminding them that the pranksters weren’t “clowns”, but people dressed as clowns. “Clown” is a profession. If pranksters went around in white coats and stethoscopes, we wouldn’t say they were “killer doctors”! Basically, there’s no such thing as a “wild clown”. Clowns are performers, nothing more. You’ll never see one just out and about unless they are working. When they’d bring up John Wayne Gacy, I’d say that he was a killer who also worked as a clown, not a “killer clown”. The BTK killer installed security systems. Should we be scared of “killer security system techs”?

[TheEndKing]

The funny thing is that when people try and make their clown designs too overtly scary, it has the opposite effect for me. The clowns that are genuine and earnest do a much better job at being spooky.

[hannahdawg]

It's amazing to me how much Tim Curry's version of Pennywise influenced so many of the "monster clowns" we see today, especially in those tacky Halloween decorations. So many of them emulate Pennywise in every way, with the poofy red wig, usually bald on top, the colorful outfit, and the deep gravely voice that's not even trying to sound cheerful or friendly.

[MasterKaiju]

Another folkloric connection with Clowns as monsters not mentioned here also ties in with the "Harlequin" which was said to be the leader of a procession of demons as the Devil's own personal emissary on top of Jester/Harlequin imagery being borrowed and featured a lot in demonic and devilish figures which harkens back to such devils as Alichino from Dante's Inferno and their connections to earlier archetypal figures like Herla in stories about the Wild Hunt and early stage plays such as with Arlechinno.

So between those listed in the video and Harlequin folklore, Clowns seem to have always been a form of counter-cultural and anti-conformist vibe to them, which in times of strife and generational upheaval (like the 80's and, well, now) it makes sense that their unsettling, anti-conformist nature and hiding behind a mask with a perpetual smile would contribute to their popularity in both horror and as symbols of anarchy and resistance as anyone who knows what a Guy Fawkes mask is can tell you, lol.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” - Oscar Wilde. I think no other figure exemplifies this on a cultural level, than what Clowns do. Inherently unserious, zany, and meant to be funny but also so detached from normalcy that they are also in of themselves, symbols of the anti-establishment and rebellion and encapsulating the fears of both the new generation and the old in equal measure. From the new generation finding it uncanny and the metaphor of hiding something monstrous behind a ungenuine smile is something the new generations come to learn when they go out into the world from positions of authority, to the old generation seeing their smiling beaming grandchildren say and do things that in no way line up with their own values that they were taught and take something they took for granted and twist it into something scary and new and it becomes a symbol of anarchy, fear and overall... generational anxiety that goes both ways.

"We live in a society" may be a flaccid, shallow statement trying to be a deep and edgy gamerbro, but in terms of clowns, the idea of clowns seeming to represent a shared generational anxiety of both the decay of the system we're born into, but also the changing of the system we've known and what are children want from it instead is best represented by the Clown, the Harlequin leading forth a procession of disorder and pandemonium to the next generation be what it may. Which, with that context, I think its no wonder that Clowns have lasted as long as they do as a figure of both parody and satire, but also as a monster that helps voice both sides of generational anxiety in tumultuous times.

[movie]

"Since the 1980's, clowns have taken a drastic turn."

*The Joker (A literal Killer Clown From the 1940's):* Am I joke to you?

[Fyrmer]

"A clown is funny in the circus ring, but what would be the normal reaction to opening a door at midnight and finding the same clown standing there in the moonlight?" -- Lon Chaney

[Firegen]

Jokes on me. I went from being afraid of them as child to performing Commedia dell'arte. Now that's scary.

[devastator]

Dr. Zarka reminded me of that joke from Watchmen, about the depressed man seeking a doctor for help, who tells him to go watch the Great Clown Pagliacci, only for the man to exclaim, _"But Doc...I _*_am_*_ the Great Clown Pagliacci."_

Great ending to the video about the makeup. It was like a plot twist, turning from social commentary to philosophy.

[Beryllahawk]

I have had the privilege of seeing Pagliacci performed live and let me tell you, even as an "amateur" college production, my GOD that was dark. I am fortunate to not have the phobia of clowns, but it's one of the fears that makes an uncomfortable amount of sense to me. The explanation here and the contexts really help, though - understanding the apparition gives me a handle on it, y'know?
I don't remember if it was 2016 or not, but I very much remember a rash of "clown attacks" here in my own modest city, in Mississippi... It was October. There were people in clown suits wandering the streets of the lower income neighborhoods and at least a dozen kids got terrified by strangers in face paint staring in at their windows. There were a LOT of upset families as I'm sure you can imagine. I don't think anyone got hurt, and I don't think the police ever succeeded in catching any of the pranksters, but it was one of the few times that Halloween wasn't a very happy holiday for me and my family -

[rickhobson]

Weird you didn't mention "The Man who Laughed" or the "Joker's" first appearance in comics in 1940. You are right about King's novel though. The evil clown was here to stay, at that point.

[seanramos]

0:11 almost made my heart jump out of my body

[Dark_Boba-chan]

I think the scary clowns stem from the fear of childhood being corrupted and the aspect of taking the joke too far

[deetlebee]

I feel like people born after the turn of the century have only ever seen clowns in a negative light. Like, I was born in 1985 and I had a childrens book about some famous clown that was remarkable because it had my name in it! Clowns were common features in play rooms and toys and such...I feel like that really went away in the 90s. I blame the movie version of IT. 🤣

[thomaspotter]

Big Comfy Couch reference?! Thought I couldn’t love this show any more than I do… holy nostalgia.

[benjaminfeld]

I definitely remember that nightmare sequence from the Brave Little Toaster. That scene scared me so much as a kid I was afraid to watch the movie again for years. And that was just one scene that scared me.

[GryphonBrokewing]

Heh. I'm not afraid of clowns, but I know a few who are. Love the examination of their transition from laughter to terror.

[TheDuckofLaw]

It's something weird about defying expectations of silliness, joviality, pratfalls, and goofy honking-noses with some awful terror. Thanks for the great video!