Clowns. Why are so many scared of them?

[Soubriquet]

Annual Halloween costume allowed at work again this

Apart from being work appropriate, the biggest rule was “no scary clowns.”

I know there’s a lot of horror movies featuring said scary clowns, but why are so many scared of them?

It seems to be a popular phobia

For me it's the totally unnatural smile. I was even terrified of Ronald McDonald as a child Even now, I can't watch any TV show or film that involves clowns.

There was also a serial killer (John Wayne Gacy) who dressed up as a clown as a job - that just adds to the terror for me

Honestly I think it's fashionable. I do have a friend who is shit scared of them after accidentally watching some clown horror as a kid, but "fear of clowns" seemed to go along with "large groups of girls drinking colourful sweet cocktails and squealing very loudly" when I worked the Halloween shifts back in my barmaid days

Maybe it’s men clowns that are the scary ones.