Why are we so scared of clowns?

Clowns... are you scared of them?

Clowns.The more you stare at their perpetually smiling faces, the more it warps into something more
sinister.

They're supposedly figures of innocent fun – brightly coloured jesters to entertain our children and slip
on banana skins in exaggerated displays of slapstick comedy. But the manic joy, the mask of make up
and the excessive familiarity are just a hair’s breadth away from terror.

In recent years, films such as Stephen King’s It have highlighted those fears, and the "killer clown" craze
currently sweeping the UK hasn't helped. In fact it's led to a deluge of calls to Childline from youngsters
left terrified by the sinister phenomenon.

But clowns have played uneasily on the public consciousness for years. So when did they move from fun
to frightening?

In 2014, police in Agade, France, arrested 14 teenagers who were dressed as clowns, carrying weapons.

A man known as the Northampton Clown terrified children and caused parents to become irate when he
dressed as a clown and stood on street corners.