It seems that there was something in the air last night as CNN posted an article today by Frank T. McAndrew on the very same topics I posted last night. So, you guys will know, I got there first.
This is an excellent article, though – it briefly touches on the history of clowns (missing a couple important stops on the way), the nature of creepiness, and the creepy clown phenomena. And it may confirm quite a bit of what you probably already suspect.
For instance, one point the author makes is that clowns are creepy because we don’t know if they are trustworthy or not. And we don’t know because we have a hard time reading their expressions and actions. Clowns are unpredictable and they are not constrained by social norms – they are distinctly outside of them.
The author also claims that John Wayne Gacy, the famed clown entertainer and serial killer of over 30 people, started the creepy clown craze. Not so! In tribal communities, depending on context, the clown or trickster characters were equally respected and feared.
Ah… now there’s the word. The Trickster. If you’ve ever studied tribal cultures (Nordic, Australian, Native American, African, etc.) the Trickster is an important member of the mythos. This character USUALLY is out for your own good, though his methods are questionable. A lot of times you end up with egg on your face. That won’t kill you, though, and you’ve learned an important lesson. So one should always be cautious with a trickster around.
One thing he did mention, however, was the similarity of the recent clown sightings to another incident in the early 1980s where a rash of clown sightings happened in Boston. That incident was determined to be a case of mass hysteria perpetuated by what seems to be children seeing clowns in unusual places, followed quickly by adults making the same claims. With so many unverifiable clown sightings recently, it may well have at least started out that way. But, since we have the internet now, copycats have embraced the fun wholeheartedly.