There’s something wrong with clowns. In the old days they were presumed to be frivolous, fun-loving pranksters that would tell a joke or perform a funny act. Somewhere along the line they became demented, demonic caricatures that are not to be trusted. While many people might still trust a clown, there are a many others that believe that under the greasepaint, goofy hair, and baggy clothing, there is something far more sinister. In some cases they are right, but most of the time it’s only due to Hollywood magic.
Here a just a few clowns that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
5. Possessed Clown Doll – Poltergeist
So dolls can be a little creepy to begin with, but clown dolls seem to be hiding something under that smile at times that just feels wrong. It could be paranoia that makes a lot of people feel this way, but in this film the strange occurrences that kept happening should have been enough for the family to say “goodbye” when Carol Anne was returned. Nope, they stayed in the same home until it almost killed them.
4. All of the Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Yes it’s a silly premise and a ridiculous movie, but it’s the fact that it’s about clowns that makes it that much scarier. The cheesy effects and goofy, wrinkled look of the clowns doesn’t help. What’s really sickening about this movie, and probably nightmare-inducing for some, is that the clowns don’t just kill people, they bag them up in cotton candy and then drink the liquefied remains as sustenance. Yeah, if their appearance alone didn’t give you bad dreams that little factoid might add to the nightmare fuel.
3. Mental Patients – Clownhouse
There’s nothing like a big dose of reality in a film such as this to make the terror quotient go sky high. The idea of taking mental patients to a circus to “relax” is kind of silly enough, but thinking that nothing will happen is a bit naive. I know, movie magic at its finest. But consider this, if such an outlandish thing did happen and a young boy with an intense fear of clowns found that he and his brothers were being stalked by these murderous pranksters, the nightmares induced by the film would be absolutely terrifying and possibly require years of therapy to erase.
2. Pennywise – It
It might be kind of surprising to see this entry as number two on this list, but there’s a reason and it will be explained in a moment. Pennywise is the ultimate in clowns when it comes to terror. The worst part about him is that he’s not really a clown at all, but an ancient and terrible entity that can take virtually any form based upon what you fear the most. As if the clown wasn’t scary enough, he could take another form and you might not even know it was him.
1. John Wayne Gacy – Gacy
So you wanted to know why Pennywise didn’t take the top spot? Because he’s a product of imagination, and therefore he’s easy to block out. John Wayne Gacy on the other hand was very real, and perpetrated some of the most heinous crimes in American history. How he got away with so many was unreal, but the fact remains that he is without a doubt the most terrifying clown that’s ever graced our nightmares.
Clowns are meant to be fun and happy. Unfortunately they’ve gotten a very bad rap in the past, and are now little more than creepy and in some cases quite disturbing.
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