There’s a word— albeit one not recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary or any psychology manual— for the excessive fear of clowns: Coulrophobia. Not a lot of people actually suffer from a...

Although it’s a rare phobia, many people find clowns creepy if not downright scary. Why? The answer lies partly in the prevalence of evil clowns in popular culture—think Pennywise in Stephen King’s It (1986). However, according to researchers, there are actual psychological reasons why we fear clowns.

Face it, America: ours is a culture that hates clowns. Coulrophobia is real, and it is systemic. But how do its victims feel? “ I want respect, and I don’t want respect,” Boswick, a clown from San Francisco, has said.

Coulrophobia, or the fear of clowns, is a widely acknowledged phenomenon. Studies indicate this fear is present among both adults and children in many different cultures. Yet it is not well...

Many people suffer from true coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. Even without a full-blown phobia, everyone seems to agree that clowns are just a little bit scary. But have you ever wondered why? Logically, a clown is simply a person wearing makeup and silly clothes, and yet they still tend to give just about everyone the creeps.