Inside Fatherhood

Clowns are creepy (officially)

by Bill on December 26th, 2007

I’m not quite sure why someone was doing research on clown efficacy, but after a recent study revealing that kids think clowns are creepy, hospitals in the U.K. are being urged not to decorate with clown imagery.

State-funded research has found that in a survey of more than 250 children aged four to 16, all disliked the use of clowns in hospital decor, with even the teenagers seeing them as “scary”.

“Given that children and young people do not find hospitals frightening per se - and only express fear about those spaces associated with needles - this finding is somewhat ironic,” said Dr Penny Curtis of Sheffield University.

The aim of the Space to Care study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, was to ensure children’s needs are part of hospital planning. Researchers discovered that, although children appreciated colourful walls and ceilings, many found the decor babyish. The fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, can cause panic attacks, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and feelings of dread.

It is one of the 10 most searched-for phobias on Yahoo! search engine.

I’m well beyond the age of the study participants, but find them creepy in a horror movie, child-molester kind of way. And how do you all feel about clowns?

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