Ask any young person today what they think about clowns. I guarantee that the vast majority will tell you that they hate them, or that they are creepy and scary. Most older people will tell you that they find them adorable and funny, many of them growing up knowing Bozo the Clown and the like. Clowns were once comically dressed entertainers with simple and funny tricks such as a flower that shoots water, a honking red nose, pulling flowers from up their sleeve, and making balloon animals. Clowns were once a necessity for children's' birthday parties and now most people wouldn't dream of that. "A clown around children? No way!" What has changed?

Scary clowns became a popular horror concept in the 1980s. Films started depicting clowns as twisted villains who use their appearance to lure children into their diabolical traps. As soon as this image became more popular, the image of clowns that we know and love instantly disappeared. The movies of this decade launched widespread coulrophobia like never before.

Nowadays, clowns are actually losing work due to these movies. In addition to the pre-established qualms of clowns, the movie "It" has played a particularly major part in the negative feelings toward clowns in both the 1990 and 2017 movies. President of the World Clown Association (WCA), Pam Moody, says that now more than ever public shows are being canceled and it is getting increasingly harder for people to get work. The WCA prepared a press kit for clowns upon the release of "It"and plan to handle the bad publicity in the most appropriate manner.

In 2016, a widespread cruel trend erupted across the United States known as the clown sightings. Twisted people would purchase clown costumes at Halloween stores and terrorize people. Many of them would carry weapons or try to lure children into a secluded area. Some stood outside of houses or windows and taunt them. Some even walked out in front of cars to prevent people from getting away. This caused people real fear. Due to the fact that this trend seemingly came out of nowhere, the WCA took a particularly hard hit. One WCA member arrived early to a birthday party she was booked for, so she waited in her car. In no time there were four police cars surrounding her own because someone had called in a clown sighting.

It's a shame that entertainers with silly tricks and gags are so widely feared. Cinema single-handedly killed an entire industry, not only with the release of 2017 "It",but with all clown horror films. The films inspired the 2016 clown sightings, the clown sightings catalyzed a deeper fear of clowns than ever before, and our fear has put many once loved entertainers out of work.