Why Are So Many People Afraid Of Clowns?

The Brain





Photo credit:

Tom Simpson/Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The clown is a staple for Halloween costumes, horror films and children’s nightmares. The figure of the evil clown has inspired countless characters: Pennywise from "It," The Joker from "Batman," Sideshow Bob, wrestler Doink the Clown, Shawn Crahan from Slipknot, and Twisty from "American Horror Story," to name a few. In fact, when was the last time you even saw a "happy clown" on TV?