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Coulrophobia is an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. It is not uncommon among children, but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults as well. Sufferers sometimes acquire a fear of clowns after having a bad experience with one personally, or seeing a sinister portrayal of one in the media. A design study carried out by the University of Sheffield found that children are frightened by clown-themed decor in hospitals. This fear can come quickly just by seeing a clown in person or by how they look in pictures.^[1] Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... The University of Sheffield is a research university, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. ...

Not all sufferers of the phobia experience the same degree of fear.^[2] For other uses, see Phobia (disambiguation). ...

Coulrophobia in reality

• Bubbles the Clown from the BBC's Test Card F has been found to be an object of fear for some. ^[3]

• In July 2006 the Isle of Wight Bestival (a pop festival) had to withdraw a request to festival goers to come dressed as clowns due to the unexpectedly high rate of coulrophobia among the potential audience. This was reported by the BBC 6 July 2006 news website.

• Ant, competitor in MTV's celebracadabra has coulrophobia. It mainly shows when he goes to buy a costume for his childrens magic challenge.^{[citation needed]}

Bubbles is the name given to the clown doll that appears in BBCs Test card F as well as the remade versions J & W. He is pictured playing with a young girl (Carol Hersee) playing noughts and crosses. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Test Card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and elsewhere for more than three decades. ... For other uses, see Isle of Wight (disambiguation). ... The Bestival is a music festival on the Isle of Wight. ...

Coulrophobia in fiction

This section does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• The animated series The Simpsons; see "Can't sleep, clown will eat me."
• In the sitcom Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer has a recurring fear of clowns which was most prominent when the psychotic "Crazy" Joe Davola, who was after him, was wearing a clown suit as a disguise.^[4]
• The Marvel Comics character Deadpool believes that clowns are the greatest threat to the human race other than the planet-eating Galactus.^{[issue # needed]}
• In the TV series Living Single^[5] John Henton's character, Overton, displays a distinct fear of clowns.
• In Doctor Who,^{[episode needed]} the Doctor's companion Ace is established as having a fear of clowns, even before the events of The Greatest Show In The Galaxy.
• In the animated series Ben 10, in the episode "Last Laugh", it is revealed that Ben is afraid of clowns, but at the end, he gets over it after defeating Zombozo, an evil clown who uses a machine that steals people's happiness..
• In the legal-comedy Boston Legal, Alan Shore faces issues while trying a case involving a politically-minded clown due to intense coulrophobia. Simply looking at the clown, let alone cross-examining him, proves to be too much.
• In an episode of the cartoon Camp Lazlo, It is revealed that the title character Lazlo is afraid of clowns but tried to overcome his fear to save Scoutmaster Lumpus from a group of clowns.
• In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander is terrified of clowns due to a traumatic birthday party as a child. In the episode "Nightmares," he is confronted with a dream-like version of that clown, but is able to overcome his fear and defeat it.
• In the Animaniacs episode "Clown And Out", Wakko gets a birthday visit from a clown, but Wakko suffers from an extreme case of coulrophobia (mispronounced as "clownophobia" by Dr. Scratchansniff). Mr. Plotz, the studio head, also suffers from coulrophobia (though not to the same degree as Wakko) and gets revenge on the clown by forcing him to continue trying to entertain Wakko.

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... An animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Bart in the clown bed Cant sleep, clown will eat me is a stock phrase that has become popular in the USA as joke-explanation for insomnia. ... This article is about a genre of comedy. ... For other uses, see Seinfeld (disambiguation). ... Cosmo Kramer is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Michael Richards. ... Crazy Joe Davola is a minor Seinfeld character who suffers from mental instability and aggressive behavior and is played by Peter Crombie. ... For other uses, see Dead pool (disambiguation). ... Galactus is a fictional character, a cosmic entity in the Marvel Universe. ... A television program (US), television programme (UK) or simply television show is a segment of programming in television broadcasting. ... Living Single is an American television sitcom which aired for five seasons on the FOX television network from August 1993 until January 1998. ... John Henton (born November 23, 1960 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA) is an American actor and comedian. ... This article is about the television series. ... Ace (given name Dorothy) is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Ben 10 is an American animated television series created by Man of Action (a group consisting of Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, and Steven T. Seagle), and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. ... Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ... Camp Lazlo is an Emmy Award-winning, American animated television series created by Joe Murray, produced by Cartoon Network Studios and currently airs on Cartoon Network. ... For other uses, see Buffy the Vampire Slayer (disambiguation). ... Alexander Xander LaVelle Harris (born 1981 in Sunnydale, California) is a fictional character in the cult television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ... This article is about the television series. ... Animaniacs logo, featuring Yakko, Wakko, and Dot plus Pinky and the Brain. ... Thaddeus Plotz was an animated cartoon character in the 1990s cartoon series Animaniacs, the (fictional) CEO of Warner Bros. ...

See also

• Joker
• Evil clown
• Zig and Zag (Australian performers)

The Joker redirects here. ... The image of the evil clown is a development in American popular culture, in which the playful trope of the clown is rendered as disturbing through the use of horror elements and dark humor. ... Zig and Zag, Jack Perry (left) and Doug McKenzie Zig and Zag - in real life Jack Perry and Doug McKenzie - were a clown duo who appeared on Australian television from 1957-1969 in Melbourne, Australia, beginning with Peters Fun Fair, which also featured Roy Lyons as Cousin Roy. ...

References

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Seinfeld (disambiguation). ... The Opera is an epsiode of Seinfeld. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• Collection of Evil Clown pictures at Scaryforkids
• Coulrophobia & The Trickster Scholarly paper on Coulrophobia by Joe Durwin (Trickster's Way V.3 #1)