Coulrophobia

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Coulrophobia is an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. It is not uncommon among children, but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults as well. Sufferers sometimes acquire a fear of clowns after having a bad experience with one personally, or seeing a sinister portrayal of one in the media. A design study carried out by the University of Sheffield found that children are frightened by clown-themed decor in hospitals. This fear can come quickly just by seeing a clown in person or by how they look in pictures.^[1]

Not all sufferers of the phobia experience the same degree of fear.^[2]

1 Coulrophobia in reality
2 Coulrophobia in fiction
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Coulrophobia in reality

Bubbles the Clown from the BBC's Test Card F has been found to be an object of fear for some. ^[3]
In July 2006 the Isle of Wight Bestival (a pop festival) 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. This was reported by the BBC 6 July 2006 news website.

[edit] Coulrophobia in fiction

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The animated series The Simpsons; see "Can't sleep, clown will eat me."
In the sitcom Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer has a recurring fear of clowns which was most prominent when the psychotic "Crazy" Joe Davola, who was after him, was wearing a clown suit as a disguise.^[4]
The Marvel Comics character Deadpool believes that clowns are the greatest threat to the human race other than the planet-eating Galactus.^{[issue # needed]}
Billy of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy has an acute fear of clowns, as he believes that clowns want to be the dominant species and that "they'll destroy us all to make it happen!". When Billy goes on to explain why he hates it clowns, it leads to a montage of him screaming "DESTROY US ALL!". Later on, he learns not to fear clowns, but to extremely hate them, which later leads to violent mood swings whenever he sees a clown.
In Doctor Who,^{[episode needed]} the Doctor's companion Ace is established as having a fear of clowns, even before the events of The Greatest Show In The Galaxy.
In the animated series Ben 10, in the episode "Last Laugh", it is revealed that Ben is afraid of clowns, but at the end, he gets over it after defeating Zombozo, an evil clown who uses a machine that steals people's happiness.
In the legal-comedy Boston Legal, Alan Shore faces issues while trying a case involving a politically-minded clown due to intense coulrophobia. Simply looking at the clown, let alone cross-examining him, proves to be too much.
In an episode of the cartoon Camp Lazlo, It is revealed that the title character Lazlo is afraid of clowns but tried to overcome his fear to save Scoutmaster Lumpus from a group of clowns.
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander is terrified of clowns due to a traumatic birthday party as a child. In the episode "Nightmares," he is confronted with a dream-like version of that clown, but is able to overcome his fear and defeat it.
In the Animaniacs episode "Clown And Out", Wakko gets a birthday visit from a clown, but Wakko suffers from an extreme case of coulrophobia (mispronounced as "clownophobia" by Dr. Scratchansniff). Mr. Plotz, the studio head, also suffers from coulrophobia (though not to the same degree as Wakko) and gets revenge on the clown by forcing him to continue trying to entertain Wakko.