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Shock of the old: nine disturbing, disruptive and demonic clowns
news.movim.eu / TheGuardian · Yesterday - 13:29
For centuries, they have been subversive speakers of truth to power – and a focus for our fears. Why do clowns provoke such strong emotions?
Perhaps more than other Shocks of the Old, today’s needs a content warning because much of humanity is scared of clowns. In 2022, of 987 respondents to the Fear of Clowns Questionnaire, or FCQ (yes, a real thing ) 272 (27.6%) reported “a fear of clowns, while 50 (5.1%) rated this fear as extreme”.
In a controversial ( with clowns ) 2008 survey of more than 250 children, every single one said they disliked clown decor in hospitals . “We found that clowns are universally disliked by children,” said the study lead, Dr Penny Curtis. “Some found them quite frightening and unknowable.”
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