The scariest killer clowns are many. The scariest clowns of all time

Red nose, white face, crazy colored suit and strange grimace. Unpredictable, antisocial types who splash water in your face and make fun of you in front of others.

The statistics are that every seventh person is afraid of clowns.

Something with a painted face, a fake smile is right under our noses. This is a potential evil.

The most scary clowns that came off the screens, here they are:

1. Pennywise (It)

Stephen King would never have become the King of Horror if he had not written It in 1986. When they decided to film this masterpiece in 1990, director Tommy Lee Wallace chose Tim Curry's "Dancing Clown" as Pennywise. At first it surprised everyone, but then Curry managed to leave a mark on the soul of an entire generation of children, including me. Pennywise is definitely the scariest clown in the world.

2. Clown from Poltergeist

Peter Hartlaub said it best about this clown:
“Even at the age of 39, holding mortgage With two kids and a leak in the basement, the clown in Poltergeist makes me cringe the following reasons: he doesn't speak, he appears unexpectedly in different places, and he's a damn clown!
The last argument is, of course, the most significant.

3. Defiler (Spawn)

The eldest of three brothers, the Defiler, a demon sent for the Earth who dialed excess weight and went bald a little along the way. The Defiler is the ultimate comic villain.

4. Ronald McDonald

Being a prominent representative of fast food, Ronald was included in this list for a reason. While other clowns from comics and films remain there, Ronald causes mayhem in real world. No other clown, no matter how many sins he may have on his conscience, has done as much as our friend Ronald - successfully clogging arteries and helping with obesity since 1963.

5. Zombie Clown (Zombieland)

In 2009, the horror-comedy film Zombieland introduced us to the hero of all clowns of today: a red nose, a hungry look and an oversized bow tie.

6. Joker (Batman)

Jack Nicholson created an unforgettable portrayal of the Joker in 1989. Less than 20 years later, Heath Ledger surpassed him. He claimed that he had locked himself in hotel room for two weeks, rehearsing the Joker's laugh.

7. Clowns (Killer Clowns from Outer Space)

One Friday evening small town received a message from space in the form of killer clowns who went hunting for human blood. Local police are overwhelmed by calls from people who claim their loved ones were killed with cotton candy and their blood was drunk from a straw.

8. Krusty (The Simpsons)

Krusty the Clown in The Simpsons was based on Bozo the Clown. None of them are that scary, at least not as obviously as Pennywise or the Joker. But Krusty is more unpleasant with his cynical outlook on life, lack of moral convictions and endless thirst for money and booze.

9. Captain Spaulding (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects)

Appearing in two Rob Zombie films, House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Scum, Captain Spaulding is a serial killer, clown, and the leader and mastermind of the Firefly Clan. The captain plays his role well and is proud to be a clown.

10. Sweet tooth (Twisted Metal game)

Sweet Tooth is a truck driver and assassin from Twisted Metal. The clown himself contains 2 elements that cannot but frighten:
He looks like a real clown
He has a head of fiery hair

A few years ago, alone married couple I decided to allow myself to relax for the evening and go have fun in the city. They called a girl they knew who had babysat their children more than once. When the girl arrived, two children were already sleeping in their cribs. So she just had to sit at home and make sure nothing happened to the children. Soon she got bored and decided to watch TV, but there was no cable downstairs because her parents didn't want their kids watching junk.

The girl called her parents and asked their permission to watch TV in their room. They, naturally, agreed, but she had one more request... she asked permission to cover the big toy clown with something, he made her nervous and creepy. For a second there was silence on the phone, and then the father who was talking to the girl said: “TAKE THE CHILDREN AND RUN AWAY FROM THE HOUSE...WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CLOWN! WE WILL CALL THE POLICE." Police found all three dead within 5 minutes of the call. The clown was never found.

TOP rating of scary clowns

PENNYWISE

A key character in Stephen King's It, and perhaps the most famous of all bad clowns. This very “It” is a kind of metaphysical entity that lives simultaneously both in its own world, inaccessible to people (Pennywise himself calls it “dead lights”), and in this one, where It feeds on fear, pain, suffering and the like. It nests underground, in sewers and sewers. Pennywise's first appearance in the city of Derry, where the book and film take place, took place in 1715. There is a version that the image of Pennywise was inspired by the American serial killer John Gacy, who dressed up as a clown.

JOHN GACY (Pogo) (Gacy's Gravedigger (Gacy, 2003))

John Wayne Gacy is an American serial killer who committed 33 murders between 1972 and 1978. Gacy buried the corpses of most of his victims right under his own house. Gacy was arrested in 1978 and executed by lethal injection in 1994. Gacy received the nickname "Killer Clown" in the press because he would occasionally dress up as a clown and appear at local parties and children's parties.

Gacy developed the image of his clown, nicknamed Pogo, himself at the end of 1975. Pogo's makeup was slightly different from the usual clown makeup: the pattern on his face had sharp corners (professional clowns avoid this so as not to accidentally scare a child).

JOKER

The eccentric psychopath and criminal genius Joker, strictly speaking, is not a clown, but there is undoubtedly something of the comedian in his image, so he is worthy of at least a brief mention. Being the sworn enemy of Batman, the character of the Joker has appeared on the silver screen more than once in the embodiment of different actors.

Over time, not only his appearance, but also biographical details, so the Joker does not have a single generally accepted past.

UNCLE BILLY (Serial Crazy Killer Clown)

A fat clown worked in a hospital where he entertained sick children. The parents of one girl invited him to their daughter’s birthday party, but the next morning they discovered that the birthday girl was missing. The clues found by the police indicated that the same clown had kidnapped her, but he had an alibi and was released. The parents did not accept this and carried out lynching: they caught the clown, brought him to the forest, tied him to a tree and beat him to death.

However, when the police later arrived at the site, the clown’s body could not be found. And later, someone killed the girl’s parents. Before that, he fed them the corpse of his own daughter.

Characteristic features: a clown mask, a long dark coat, and HUNT and KILL tattoos on his knuckles. Perhaps one of the most cruel cinematic clowns, he uses extremely sadistic methods to deal with his victims.
Film: Uninvited Guest (Intruder, 2008).

JOEY VALENTINE

18-year-old schoolboy. His passion for clowns passed on to him from his mother, who collected a collection of clown dolls, toys, paintings and other junk on the theme. When his mother died, Joey was left with his evil dad, who periodically beat him.

In the forest, Joey and a couple of friends decided to organize a prank. The plan was this: Joey tells a scary story about a killer clown around the campfire. But the joke did not work - Joey was mistaken for a real maniac and killed. Of course, no one went to the police; the whole company decided to quickly bury the guy in a hole in the forest and run home.

Over the past few months, pranksters have been rampant in the United States. Gangs of merry men dress up as creepy clowns and literally terrorize the population of the country. On this moment distress calls were recorded in at least 10 different states.

With a touch of crime

People in disguise are trying to lure women and children into the forest; they are chasing frightened citizens with knives and machetes, and scaring passers-by from car windows. Civilians often see mummers in clown costumes driving around on country roads in the dead of night. Pranksters have even been spotted in cemeteries.

This is not the first clown invasion

The creepy clown became a symbol of crime back in the 80s. Then, for the first time, rabid disguised criminals were seen terrorizing people on the streets of Boston. Cryptozoologist Lauren Coleman gave his explanation of mass hysteria by putting forward the clown phantom theory. Painted people behaving provocatively are no longer associated with joy, they bring fear with them and, above all, affect the minds of children. The most impressionable citizens of the adult population also become victims of mass hysteria.

A prank or an elaborate criminal plan?

The current situation is complicated by the fact that people will never figure out who appears before them: a person trying to have fun and have fun, or a real terrible criminal hiding behind clown makeup. Criminals masterfully manipulate people's fears and are well aware of the hatred of the merry people. IN to a greater extent this fear has its roots in distant childhood.

Do kids really hate clowns?

In 2008, a sociological survey was conducted in the UK, the results of which stunned scientists. It turns out that many children do not like clowns at all, feeling hostility or other negative feelings towards them. Adults, convinced of the opposite, paint hospital wards or other children's institutions with clown faces. Thus, instead of a fun atmosphere, children find themselves in a very unfavorable environment. It is not surprising that people have hated clowns since childhood. Let's try to understand this aspect from the point of view of history and psychology.

From jester to circus performer

In fact, clowns have been around for thousands of years. In ancient times, at any mass gathering there was always a jester present, who was supposed to entertain and amuse the audience. This man armed himself with satirical techniques and ridiculed the existing regime. Everything was forgiven to the jester. After all, in this way the authorities regulated the mood of the masses or tried to introduce unpopular measures into society. The dressed-up, eccentric people played the role of a kind of safety valve. Anyone who disagreed with the regime could express their dissatisfaction or laugh at the greed and stupidity of the rich. The merry fellows had freedom of expression, but only as long as their jokes did not turn into a threat to senior management.

But if mummered satirists ridiculing influential people have been known since the times Ancient Egypt, the very concept of “clown” appeared somewhere in the middle of the 16th century. Then William Shakespeare began to actively use this image in his plays. Well, our good friend the circus clown appeared approximately 150 years ago. At this time, a man with a painted face, a wig and multi-colored baggy clothes entered the arena for the first time. This image has survived to this day almost in its original form, undergoing only minor changes.

Unpredictability hiding under the makeup

Author Benjamin Radford recently published Bad Clown, which tracks the evolution of these funny characters into unpredictable, menacing creatures. First time about this terrible phenomenon spoke out loud after the capture of the notorious serial killer John Gacy, who hunted his victims in the guise of a clown. When it was discovered that the Chicago maniac had at least 33 victims, the direct connection between clowns and psychopathic behavior was forever ingrained in the minds of ordinary Americans on a subconscious level.

Hollywood jumped on the idea

The story of brutal torture in the basement of Gacy's house appeared on the wide screen, and the image of a psychopathic clown was reflected in literary genre. Writers and screenwriters have repeatedly turned to this sinister character in their works. Perhaps the most famous image of the killer was created by Stephen King in the novel It. Thanks to the film adaptation of the work in 1990, many children and their parents stopped sleeping peacefully as soon as they remembered the dancing clown Pennywise. Along with this ominous image are Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), the amusement park zombie from Zombieland (2009) and the image of an ugly clown recorded on videotape from the film All Day's Eve. saints" (2013). However, we have provided you with far from full list screened villains.

Empirical experiment

Why do merry fellows, designed to amuse and make the audience laugh, instill indescribable horror in people and make them tremble, covered in goosebumps? An empirical experiment led by Dr. Frank McCandrew will help solve the mystery of this phenomenon. A team of researchers from Knox College launched an online survey of more than 1,300 adult volunteers of all ages.

The questionnaire consisted of four sections, in the first of which participants had to choose the most frightening characteristics of people, for example, unusual behavior or the presence of tattoos. In total, there were 44 items in the list of behavioral characteristics. The second section included a list of 21 professions, from which each participant had to choose the creepiest one. The third part included a question about the two most intimidating hobbies. AND last section was made up of 15 different statements about creepy people. Volunteers selected only a few items from the proposed list.

Results of the online survey

We begin to form the most frightening image. Men inspire less confidence compared to women. If we draw parallels with our topic today, we can remember that it is the representatives of the stronger sex who most often apply to become clowns. In the section of non-verbal signs, bulging eyes lead, long fingers and a malicious smile. Presence of strange physical signs(such as a hump or limp) further exacerbates the eerie perception. Many survey participants do not like it when the interlocutor deliberately steers the conversation into a sexual direction or talks about the possibility of attracting reptiles to the office. If we consider professions that do not inspire confidence in people, it is easy to guess that the clowns “won” here, and with a great advantage.

From a psychological point of view

Rami Neider, a psychologist from Canada, works to study irrational human fears. According to the expert, a phobia of them can arise, first of all, due to the presence of a thick layer of colored makeup on the face. We are suspicious of people who, for some reason, hide their true selves and hide their feelings. The embellished appearance further adds fuel to the fire. A huge red wig, a false nose and baggy clothes make you wary of clowns. This reaction is inherent in us by evolution. Ancient people were in constant anticipation of danger lurking around the corner. They remained vigilant even if they saw a suspicious person in front of them.

Inability to predict behavior

All this is quite consistent with the hypothesis that clowns are unpleasant to people because of their false image of happiness. When a person laughs incessantly and speaks in a squeaky voice, even the audience in the circus arena does not know what to expect from this strange merry fellow in a minute. Will it be a cake thrown right in your face or some other humiliating prank? No one knows what tricks the clown has hidden under his fake belly, under his hat or in his giant yellow shoe. Well, if we cannot predict his behavior, it is better to stay away from him.

Red nose, white face, crazy colored suit and strange grimace. Unpredictable, antisocial types who splash water in your face and make fun of you in front of others.

The statistics are that every seventh person experiences fear of clowns.

“Something with a painted face, a fake smile is right under our noses. This is a potential evil."

The scariest clowns that came off the screens, here they are:

1. Pennywise (It)

2. Clown from Poltergeist

Peter Hartlaub said it best about this clown:

“Even at age 39, with a mortgage, two kids, and a leak in the basement, the clown in Poltergeist makes me cringe for the following reasons: he doesn't speak, he pops up unexpectedly in different places, and he's a damn clown!”

The last argument is, of course, the most significant.

3. Defiler (Spawn)

The eldest of three brothers, the Defiler is a demon sent for the Earth, who became overweight and went a little bald along the way. The Defiler is the ultimate comic villain.

4. Ronald McDonald

Being a prominent representative of fast food, Ronald was included in this list for a reason. While other clowns from comics and movies remain there, Ronald causes mayhem in the real world. No other clown, no matter how many sins he may have on his conscience, has done as much as our friend Ronald - successfully clogging arteries and helping with obesity since 1963.

5. Zombie Clown (Zombieland)

In 2009, the horror-comedy film Zombieland introduced us to the hero of all clowns of today: a red nose, a hungry look and an oversized bow tie.

6. Joker (Batman)

Jack Nicholson created an unforgettable portrayal of the Joker in 1989. Less than 20 years later, Heath Ledger surpassed him. He claimed to have locked himself in a hotel room for two weeks rehearsing the Joker's laugh.

7. Clowns (Killer Clowns from Outer Space)

One Friday evening, a small town received a message from outer space in the form of killer clowns who went hunting for human blood. Local police are overwhelmed by calls from people who claim their loved ones were killed with cotton candy and their blood was drunk from a straw.

8. Krusty (The Simpsons)

There are dozens of stories of evil clowns appearing and disappearing under mysterious circumstances. Where did this manic craving of people with unstable psyches for the image of a scary clown begin? For the first time, the idea that a clown could turn out to be an incredibly cruel and even monstrous person arose from the writer Stephen King in the novel “It,” on which horror film scripts were repeatedly created in Hollywood.

However, even in real life there were clowns who turned out to be murderers and rapists. There are many cases where people suddenly disappeared: children, teenagers and adults, and clowns were involved in the history of their disappearances. This article gives several examples of strange and frightening appearances of clowns that have not yet found a reasonable explanation.

Scary incident while fishing

In Western Virginia (USA), one man, while fishing at night, heard an incomprehensible noise coming from the thickets. He decided to take a camera and a flashlight and see what was happening. Five meters from the fishing spot stood a man in clown makeup, who, when the light hit him, began to laugh terribly.

This greatly frightened the man, and he, throwing all his fishing equipment, rushed to the car. But the strange incident did not end there. Having sat behind the wheel and put the car in reverse, the fisherman did not stop filming, and a second later the clown reappeared in the camera lens. This time he no longer stood, but ran towards the car with the same terrible laugh. The man stopped coming to those places for fishing forever. The clown's identity has never been established.

Clown with a chainsaw

The phenomenon of scary clowns is known not only in America. There have also been many cases of similar encounters in Canada. So, one day several guys were driving in a car and, in order to shorten the road, they turned off the central highway onto a dirt road.

Having gotten out of the car out of natural necessity, they were about to continue their journey, when suddenly a man in makeup and a clown outfit appeared right in front of the car, standing and looking at the car. The guys decided that this was a prankster, but the clown suddenly had a chainsaw in his hands, and he began to quickly approach the car. The friends rushed into the cabin like a bullet and pressed the gas. They had never experienced such a strong shock before.

Clowns are attacking Europe

Playing killer clowns has gained popularity in some European countries. For example, in Germany in October 2016, there were several attacks by hooligans in clown costumes within one week. The “Jokers” tried to imitate the famous maniac in America, John Wayne Gacy Jr., who was nicknamed the killer clown. John Gacy was accused of killing more than 30 people, for which he was sentenced to death.

On the eve of the celebration, a group appeared on Facebook called “Clown Hunters.” Its members promised to organize a “grand purge” on All Saints’ Night, which caused a serious public outcry. Fortunately, this time there were no casualties. However, more and more people are becoming afraid of clowns, and books and films prove that clowns are not always who they say they are.