Coulrophobia shouldn’t be treated lightly. Some hospitals use clowns in mural decorations, which can cause coulrophobic children to feel uneasy during their stay at the hospital. Although the fear of clowns develops most of the time during childhood, it is prevalent among the adult population too, even if a big number of adults deny it.
Here’s a video of what it might look like to live with coulrophobia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVlnxELyfYk&feature=youtu.be
In theory, clowns are figures of fun, intended to provoke amusement and laughter with their hijinks, not screams of horror. Big smiley faces, slapstick, party tricks, bright colors; none of these things are typically associated with intense fear. And yet, when combined in the form of a clown, they regularly cause the exact opposite reaction to the one intended.
There isn’t any official data about how many people suffer from coulrophobia, although it is believed that it is much more prevalent in western society (where exposure to clowns is more prevalent since a younger age). Some estimate that around 12% of adults in the US suffer from it. At the end of the day, any phobia is an irrational fear, and clowns exist to entertain us, not to terrify us. So if you’re planning on dressing up as a scary clown this Halloween, be nice.
