Phunny Phobias
If you met someone who was afraid of paper or wax statues, wouldn't you tell them to stop being so ridiculous and get over it? Every Monday, Null editor Hayley hand-picks another bizarre phobia and tries to work out whether it's real or rubbish.
This week:
Coulrophobia: fear of clowns
What's so scary about them?
Are you kidding? Strange juggling men in yellow wigs and funny shoes, faces caked in inch-thick, white make-up? As a child there was very little I found scarier than clowns (perhaps Father Christmas - oh come on, a fat man with a beard trying to get into your bedroom in the middle of the night?) and in fact, a high percentage of coulrophobes are children.
What do the scientists say about it?
A paper entitled Does Clowning Benefit Children in Hospitals? tackles the problem of patients with coulrophobia. Psychologists reckon that nine times out of ten, the fear can be related back to a traumatic experience during childhood. For Lisa Weilhumer it happened, unsurprisingly, at the circus. “ A clown got right up in front of my face, and I could see his beard stubble underneath the clown makeup. He smelled bad and his eyes were weird… He had this smile painted on his face, but he was not smiling. He was yucky. Scary. Freaky. Weird.”
Hayley says:
"No doubt about it. They're nasty, scary little men. Real."
So far: Real 4 Rubbish 3
Find phunny phobias from other weeks here.
Null's other regular features (more coming soon):
Tuesday: Nutty Nomenclature
Thursday: Peculiar Periodicals
Erratically: The World in Brief
Image: Marja F-B
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