The Top 10 Bad Clowns: Part 1

The clown has played an important role in all societies and cultures, and the bad clown is an inherent part of that. You can no more separate a good clown from a bad clown than a clown from his shadow. Bad, evil, and maladjusted clowns have plagued the world for centuries; here is a list of the top ten bad clowns of all time—some of them real, some of them fictional, and some of them seemingly in between. It’s the clown you fear will appear at your birthday party—or over your bed as you sleep.

1) The Joker
The most famous comic book supervillain and evil clown in the world, Batman’s archenemy the Joker first appeared in a 1940 issue of Batman comic and has been memorably portrayed in film by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger.

2) Mr. Punch
Mr. Punch, the red-capped, gleeful, wife-abusing serial killer star of Punch and Judy puppet shows since the 1600s, remains popular today as family entertainment and has inspired countless writers including Clive Barker and Neil Gaiman.

3) Ouchy the S&M Clown
San Francisco-based Ouchy the Clown has been dispensing bondage and beatings to (un)deserving clients since 2001 and is America’s premiere provider of “adult clown services.”

4) Pennywise
Stephen King’s hit novel It featured an evil entity which took the form of a menacing clown called Pennywise. The 1990 television miniseries adaptation starring Tim Curry traumatized a generation of Americans and helped fuel the modern interest in scary clowns.

5) Pogo (aka John Wayne Gacy)
John Gacy preyed on vulnerable Chicago-area men in the mid-1970s, killing dozens by stabbing and strangulation; though Gacy was never a professional clown—he was a contractor by trade—he occasionally volunteered as Pogo the clown, cementing his reputation as a real-life killer clown.

Next week I’ll round out the rest of the top 10!