Evil Clown - Origins

Origins

The modern archetype of the evil clown has unclear origins, but one of the first appearances of the concept is that of John Wayne Gacy, an American serial killer and rapist who became known as the Killer Clown after it was discovered that he performed as Pogo the Clown at children's parties and other events. The public nature of his trial made the imprint of his character on American culture noteworthy, including his association with his clown persona.

The evil clown archetype plays strongly off the sense of dislike caused by inherent elements of coulrophobia. A study by the University of Sheffield concluded "that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable." This may be because of the nature of clowns' makeup hiding their faces, making them potential threats in disguise; as a psychology professor at California State University, Northridge stated, young children are "very reactive to a familiar body type with an unfamiliar face". This natural disliking of clowns makes them effective to use in a literary or fictional context, as the antagonistic threat perceived in clowns is desirable in a villainous character.