Fear of clowns: The King of All Weird phobias

Does the name Pennywise tell you something? Maybe the chills, maybe some fear, maybe some hatred, or maybe nothing. Imagine that you are alone in your house, it's getting dark, you can't see really well. The door bell rings, you go downstairs very slowly, you open the door and... Pow! A big clown face greets you with an annoying/devilish laughter GUFFAW, GUFFAW, GUFFAW!!!Fear of clowns, together with fear of driving and fear of success, is one of the most known weird phobias and fears.

Fear of clowns, or its scientific name coulrophobia, is an extreme fear towards these hated creatures. It isn't true what they say: clowns are not funny, cute or good-spirited creatures. Well, maybe they are, depending on who is or who is not afraid of clowns. There has always been ambivalence, since people have managed to label clowns into two types. The good, funny one with fear of driving and the evil, sinister one, that kidnaps people and puts them in the trunk of the car to eat them later. Fear of clowns could be toward both of them. However, weird phobias and fears tend to address the evil clown.

Fear of clowns is more common with children; say ages 2 to 7, nonetheless, it can also be found among teenagers and some adults. These weird phobias and fears are caused by two main reasons:

1) Children grow fear of clowns after experiencing a dramatic situation with a clown in person. It may have been at a neighbor's party, or a cruel prank the child's father made. This fear is usually carried to the child's adult life. A similar situation happen with fear of driving, where a traumatic situation makes the brain to retain that episode.

2) After seeing a malefic portrayal of a clown in the movies, television or media in general.

A Social Phobia