Why ARE we so scared of clowns? Expert reveals why the kids’ party characters freak so many adults out
Fear is understandable with such sinister incidents but even before the craze took hold many people were scared by the 'fun' clowns
THE PAPERS have been filled with reports of creepy criminals dressed as clowns haunting neighbours in the States and North America.
More recently the phenomena has come to this side of the pond with reports of the make-up covered characters terrifying children in across the North East of the country.
There are reports that four Durham children were followed on their way to school this morning by a clown holding a knife.
The school children were not physically harmed but were shaken by the time they arrived at school.
Fear is understandable with such sinister incidents but even before the craze took hold many people were scared by the kids’ party characters.
Officially called "Coulrophobia" the fear can be crippling for some adults.
So why is it that we find these “fun and silly” performers so terrifying?
spoke exclusively to The Sun about why this phenomenon exists.
She explains that as children we are familiar with the appearance of our caregivers and family members and we see them as having a “safe and friendly human face”.
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“Our brain has to match patterns in order to survive. We need to be able to recognise and distinguish friendly (human) faces,” said Dr Melanie.
“Clown faces are quite different from this, they have unnatural, large, exaggerated and distorted features and therefore don’t match the ‘safe, friendly human’ pattern we have created in our minds.
“We know that clown faces are brightly coloured, with stark contrasts – for example wide bright red lips, against a very white background, with exaggerated smiles or expressions which are fixed and do not change with interaction.
“This triggers an ‘unsafe/ does not match’ alert in our primal brains which indicates this type of face is unknown, not recognised, possibly unsafe, possibly a threat and we cannot read the facial expression correctly as it doesn’t match the actions or words.”
This inability to interact with the clown means that we feel potentially under threat and feel fearful, panicky and threatened.
Dr Melanie explains that this usually causes us to avoid them altogether and if something is continually avoided the brain is likely to categorise it as ‘life threatening and dangerous’.
She said: “Generally, clown fears are set up in childhood and continue into adulthood.
“As with most other fears and phobias they can be treatable with modern therapeutic techniques such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Relaxation therapy and guided imagery, Hypnotherapy or a combination.
“A few sessions may be all that is needed.”
Visit Dr Melanie's site here:
DR MELANIE PHELPS’ SIX FACTORS THAT CAN CAUSE COULROPHOBIA
1. How clowns are introduced to you as a child
If parents make sure that you are smiling and laughing with the clown they can match the pattern and laugh too and know these distorted faces are harmless and funny and not a threat to them.
2. Individual differences
Some kids love the fun fair rides such as ghost train that surprise them and giggle about that and some just get scared.
3. Age of exposure
As with horror films – some children may be too young to figure out what is really happening and it is not a real threat, they may have been Ok if exposed when they were a little older.
The exact ages depend on the child but it is advisable to wait till they are at a stage of maturity when they are more able to figure things out for themselves a bit more easily.
4. The reaction of others around them
If other kids or adults are scared they are more likely to follow suit.
5. The general level of safety and security the child feels
If there are arguments at home and the child doesn’t feel so secure they might feel self-conscious or nervous anyway and at around the same time they are introduced to unknown distorted clown faces, they may be more prone to be scared or anxious.
A paired response can be set up – clowns and fear. Therefore later, the image of a clown or an actual clown triggers the fear again.
6. Children are more sensitive as their nervous systems develop
They are more sensitive to new smells, different tastes, and different visual or auditory stimuli. The clowns face and behaviour may just be too overwhelming for that child at that time.