Children of the 1960s and ’70s grew up with clowns presented as friendly figures. Bozo the Clown graced television screens in many large media markets, and Ronald McDonald became a familiar face to children everywhere.
The children of the 1980s weren’t so lucky.
Stephen King’s 1986 novel “IT” changed the image of a clown into a terrifying figure. Regarded as one of the author’s best works, “IT” transformed the clown into a frightening menace. Because of a memorable performance by Tim Curry in the 1990 miniseries adaption, and Bill Skarsgards’ haunting portrayal in a pair of films, “IT” (2017) and “IT: Chapter 2” (2019), Pennywise the Dancing Clown has become a cultural icon.
Is it fair to attribute fear of clowns to King’s novel? Probably not. After all, the 1980s saw its share of moral panics, and stranger danger became the source of legitimate fear in the era of working parents and latch-key kids.
More importantly, no fictional character could possibly be scarier than Pogo the Clown, the alter ego of real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
Infamously referred to as the Killer Clown, Gacy was convicted in 1980 for the sexual assault and murder of at least 33 teenage boys and young men in the Chicago, Illinois, area. While Gacy probably did not perform his atrocities while in costume, the fact that he was well known as a clown in such close contact with children is frightening. Pennywise may be terrifying, but at least he is a fictional creation.
And he is by no means the only fictional clown to make a significant impact.
Heath Ledger’s unforgettable final performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” (2008) provides a real-life example of a tortured performer who is willing to die to entertain his audience. Art the Clown takes center stage as the villain of a pair of extremely gory movies, “Terrifier” (2016) and “Terrifier 2” (2022). Twisty the Clown was a key villain in the fourth season of “American Horror Story: Freakshow” (2014) and stands as one of the series’ most frightening characters. Captain Spaulding, the murderous clown in a trio of Rob Zombie films, made his first appearance in “House of a 1000 Corpses” (2003) and has come to define the character of the late actor Sid Haig. While none of these clowns are as recognizable as Pennywise, they are all terrifying in their own way.
Looking back more than a century, the scary clown archetype definitely predates King’s novel. In fact, scary clowns can be found in culture going back to the early 1800s. English actor and comedian Joseph Grimaldi popularized the white-face makeup that is a key element of most modern clowns, including Pennywise. Charles Dickens would publish “The Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi,” in 1838, focusing on the troubled, self-destructive life Grimaldi led, adding an element of tragedy to the figure of the clown.
Near the end of the century, Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s famous opera “Pagliacci” (1892) would go even further, transforming the clown into an actual murderer. In the play’s final act, the main character, Canio, murders his wife and lover while dressed as a clown.
During the 20th century, troubled clowns would grace the silver screen, appearing in such films as “Spies” (1928), in which a clown commits suicide in front of a laughing audience. That same year, the legendary silent film actor Lon Chaney appeared in “Laugh, Clown, Laugh,” portraying Tito, another tragic clown who dies performing a risky stunt.
Despite this brief history, it is hard to absolve King of the blame for recent cultural manifestations of clown fear, or coulrophobia. This term has unclear origins, but it is gaining popularity in describing a fear of clowns. Though it is not mentioned in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM–5), that does not mean that people do not fear clowns.
While King did not create modern clown fear, his work reflected existing, emerging fears of the time. Because of recent bias and the immense popularity of “IT,” King gets credit, or blame, for modern clown fear. While he may not have intended to do so, he has certainly stoked the fires of coulrophobia.
Dr. Daniel Compora is an associate professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at The University of Toledo. A longtime King fan, Compora had a book chapter released this month titled “Toxic Nostalgia in Stephen King’s ‘IT’ ” and is working on another article focusing on King’s novel “The Talisman.”
