Ever since I can remember, clowns have made people incredibly uncomfortable. Whether they're trying to be innocently adorable, or sadistically creepy, clowns everywhere have forever scarred me for life. It doesn't make things better knowing that clowns have become the current fad amongst horror enthusiasts everywhere. And as if things couldn't get any worse, they have been photographed lingering the streets, as well as college campuses, posing as frightening as ever.
You could blame the initial clown sightings on the increasing popularity of clowns as horror icons. Films such as Jon Watts' recent film "Clown," dealing with a demonic clown, Rob Zombie's "31," dealing with a circus and American Horror Story's Twisty, who I was particularly disturbed by myself. All of these iconic clowns have only came out relatively recently within the last few years and I haven't even mentioned the most famous horror clowns.
The arguably most famous horror clown and the subject of all your parent's nightmares as a kid is Stephen King's "It." With a remake of the film coming out next year, one can only expect these clown sightings to get worse before they get better.
Perhaps the scariest idea of these clowns is that the notorious rapist and serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, dressed up as a clown possibly proving once and for all that not all clowns are friendly. I personally view this as the beginning of clowns being symbolically viewed in the genre of horror. They were never cute, nor funny, no matter how much Ronald McDonald wants to give you a hug.
Be safe on Halloween my friends! And remember, stay away from the clowns.
