There’s a theory that human beings are repulsed by creatures that appear to be nearly, but not fully, human. Between the things that we love that don’t look at all like humans, and things that we love that look exactly like humans. So let’s investigate the most frightful, red-nosed residents of the clowns.
1. Clown Zombie
With his face painted white and electric green puffs of hair sticking out from the sides of his head, Clown Zombie comes in at number 10 on our list. Hitting both the clown and zombie terror factors, this character terrifies despite a total of about five minutes on screen. While Zombieland is mostly a comical take on the zombie trends and tropes popular at the time, the movie’s man-eating clown falls into the realm of our most feared in pop culture.
2. Captain Spaulding
Easily the most terrifying part of Rob Zombie’s first film, Captain Spaulding only appears toward the end of House of 1000 Corpses—but he is definitely worth sticking around for.
3. Killjoy
Also known as Killjoy the Clown or Boss, the next clown on our list is the result of black magic used by those who sought revenge, regardless of what it will cost. He is both a killer clown and demon. Those who summon him to pay the price of losing their souls to him. From this, Killjoy is born. He can be found driving an ice cream truck and searching for his next victim. The moral here: Avoid black magic and know the limits of your desires.
4. Pogo The Clown
John Wayne Gacy, the infamous serial killer who took the lives of at least 33 young men in Cook County, Illinois between the years 1972 and 1978, would often dress as a clown named Pogo for children’s parties and charitable events throughout Illinois. Looking at the picture above with a clear understanding of who the man behind the makeup was, you can see why we put Pogo at the top of this list. Terrifying isn’t even a strong enough word here.
5. Twisty The Clown
If you’re caught up on your American Horror Story seasons then you may recognize Twisty (played by John Carroll Lynch) from “Freak Show.” It’s hard to imagine anything being creepier than the image above unless you know what’s behind that mask
6.The Joker from Batman
A devilish and insane joker, who is an archenemy of Batman, appeared first in 1940 in comics. The sadistic joker is dressed up in the typical grease-like paint on the face that is coupled with an unnaturally wide scary smile and red smudge that makes him look like he has ketchup smeared on his face. Nothing makes this joker happier than giving people pain through props used by jokers mostly- toxic balloons, carols that spit acid and so on.
7. Stephen King’s Novel
Stephen King wrote a famous novel about a clown that kidnapped kids and took them into the sewers. They have never seen again which implied that the clown killed them. With a story like that on the bedside table, not only will parents dream of clowns- they would also shun away any demands of a clown presenting toys on their kid’s birthday.
8. Masked Men
Even though clowns are supposed to bring laughter, people mostly associate them with negativity. There is something inherently negative about a person whose real expressions are hidden with paint or mask. The same is not felt for Batman or people at a masquerade, yet, not knowing who the buffoon is makes people uncomfortable.