What is Digg?117 Comments
- Gir53457, on 01/17/2008, -1/+77Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me. Can't sleep. Clown will eat me.
- arrogantprick, on 01/17/2008, -1/+62"To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad." - Jack Handey
- wbeavis, on 01/17/2008, -2/+40Because they aren't funny.
- wattersm, on 01/17/2008, -2/+32Because clowns look like freaks and are unnatural?
- Cayfox, on 01/17/2008, -0/+22Oh, they float. They all float... And when you're down here with me... YOU'LL FLOAT TOO!
- jetboyterp, on 01/17/2008, -1/+19In related news: Insane Clown Posse hospital benefit concert has been canceled...
- jmchez, on 01/17/2008, -0/+15When you consider that the clown look is based on pushing the "humor is based on someone else's pain" idea to an extreme, it's not surprising that kids are wary of clowns.
That inflated red nose first started appearing in renaissance Italy when an entertainer on stage fell and broke his nose. When he got up with the swollen red mess on his face, the audience laughed heartily at his pain. From then on, imitators started pretending to fall and rising up with a big red noses to the delight of the cruel crowd.
The red nose to imitate a drunk was an American 20th century adaptation. - wddwmmandalore, on 01/17/2008, -0/+14I will implore everyone to watch the movie "Killer Klowns from Outer Space."
- LeRenard, on 01/17/2008, -0/+13Have you ever seen someone happy about seeing a clown? Like "Oh yey! A clown!" ? It doesn't happen. Most people just sort of smile at them to be polite, get their balloon animal, then take off.
- sobe86, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11"Oh, come on Georgie, don't you want a ... BALLOON?"
- fant0m, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10The movie "IT" did it for me.
"Howya doin, Georgie, Pordgie?" - Otto, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10Clowns always make me feel better about myself. They remind me that no matter how much life sucks, at least I'm not a *****' clown.
- betobeto, on 01/17/2008, -3/+13I blame it on Pennywise.
- wylfing, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8jmchez - you are completely right. Clown humor is based on laughing at someone to whom bad things keep happening. It is a style of humor that it very much out of fashion in Western society right now, because we are enjoying vast prosperity. When everyone is scrabbling to get by, and even small misfortunes can spell disaster, clowns are funny - they're more unfortunate than you, and their happy faces indicate it's OK to laugh at them for it, and it's all very cathartic.
But in times of prosperity, laughing at unfortunate people feels mean. Their happy faces now are an uncomfortable contradiction, the continuing smile amidst cruelty (i.e., our cruelty at laughing at the bad things that happen to the clown). From there it's a simple transferrence to the basic "horror" model of the clown, who *himself* is cruel but wears an unfeeling happy face throughout it all. - popstop785, on 01/17/2008, -1/+9IT
- xeomage, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8"If you should die before you wake...Buaha ha ha ha ha!"
Simpsons rule(d). - geoboy, on 01/17/2008, -1/+9I have no idea if what you just said is complete *****, but it was so damn interesting I just had to digg it up.
- Dudeee, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7cause mimes are better
- swavalier711, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6When I watched Batman as a kid, The Joker scared the piss out of me.
No more clowns after that. - xdevit, on 01/17/2008, -1/+7I miss Bozo
- krnldmp, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6Because healthy humans of any age don't like getting their ***** filter overloaded.
- DarKnight90, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6Lamest comment ever.
- sindex, on 01/17/2008, -1/+7I'm afraid you're wrong.
- kiwiboyus, on 01/17/2008, -1/+6I've never really liked them but watching IT really did it for me. Plus John Wayne Gacy sure didn't help their image.
- UnstableMind, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5For me, it was Stephen King's IT at the age of 8.
- spacecoyote1966, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4I was never afraid of clowns, but I never "got" them either. I didn't understand why they were supposed to be entertaining. They were just boring. In fact the only clowns I do like are the horror movie clowns, like the ones in Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
- adam2112, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5Those clowns that were trashing Pee Wee's bike in 'Pee Wee's Big Adventure" weren't right.
Also, wasn't there that John Wayne Gacy guy that dressed like a clown and killed a bunch of people?
I think any grown man that would want to be a clown is a pretty scary individual to begin with. - wrupp, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4I blame Krusty!
- inigomntoya, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Because the title of the article is "Why are clowns scary?" - it kind of lends to the term "fear" or "afraid"
- meteor321, on 01/17/2008, -1/+4Most of them wanna be funny on hard way just because of money, if you wanna be clown you must have that kind of character not anyone can be good funny clown.
- inactive, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3I hate clowns and mimes.
- pedo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Why? Isn't it obvious? They are creepy as hell. duh
- shotgunefx, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Growing up in Boston, "The Clowns" were like the Boogie Man. Supposedly they drove around in a van trying to snatch children. I think it may have been based somewhat on reality, IIRC, someone in a van tried to snatch a couple of kids but it turned into legend.
Whenever you'd see a van driving slowly by the school yard or worse, around the block a few times (which in retrospect is still creepy), everyone would get freaked. Kids would start telling stories of almost getting snatched or getting caught but escaping, etc.
I've been told that Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) actually has them as characters in some of the books.
Anyway, didn't make them any less creepy. - brufleth, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3I'd like to add that while tolerable from far away (still not funny though) they are no more appealing to be near than an obnoxious drunk stranger who keeps trying to talk to you in the street. I don't mean the funny drunk stranger either. I mean the one asking for a dollar for a bus ticket.
- elarson, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Robin Williams is ***** his pants somewhere.
- organdonersteve, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2but clown porn owns.
- mogebier, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Bozo always seemed funny, but he was safe behind the TV screen.
Clowns in real life are just freaky. - dlsspy, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Captain J.T. Spaulding: Why? Don't we make ya laugh? Aren't we *****' funny? You best come up with an answer, cos I'm gonna come back here and check on you and your momma and if you ain't got a reason why you hate clowns, I'm gonna kill your whole ***** family.
- tgc1, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Yeah, but in that case you KNOW the Joker is sadistic and a psychopath, so he's not all that scary. Can't wait to see what Heath Ledger does for the Joker persona in the new batman flick. Looks promising.
- bjs3171, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1i haven't seen Ronald in a commercial for years.
- akilleen, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1I'm not so much afraid of clowns, I just really hate them. I don't know what it is, but every time I see one I have the hold back the urge to punch it. I am really not a violent person normally, but clowns seem to bring out the worst in me.
- techwrekfix, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1I'm the same way. I hate clown. I think their hiding something.
- Chasuk, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1Some people are just scaredy-cats. It's genetic. My sister-in-law was terrified of Klingons, for Chrissake, and I've met people who were actually frightened by daleks! It's sort of trendy now to be frightened by clowns, like all of those people who said they stopped taking showers after Psycho, or swimming in the sea after Jaws. The number of claimants didn't match th number of the actually fearful.
- bjs3171, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1i've always been pretty ambivalent to clowns. i enjoyed the circus as a kid because i wasn't freaked out by the clowns and they did some pretty cool acrobatic stuff. I do totally understand why someone with a perpetually happy face full of makeup would scare the ***** out of someone, though.
- BigMike, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Oh man! My wife HATES clowns! I bet she'll shriek when she sees this story.
- GuacamoleSan, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1It's the same reason why the Joker is the best villian ever....laughing is scary.
- Ender008, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1Or lack thereof.
- Regulator980, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1If that's the case, then why is Ronald McDonald such a popular character with kids?
- wheresjim, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1When I see a clown, I see a guy who is trying as hard as possible not to look like his Megan's Law website profile picture.
- bjs3171, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1a van? wouldn't they be in a clown car?
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