Creepy Clowns: The Horror Behind the Laughter

In 2016, America was gripped by a slew of creepy clown sightings in cities far and wide. These sightings vanished as suddenly as they began, and there was no rhyme or reason for them other than it was just "a thing" for that year. But that wasn't the beginning of the clown as a monster. The iconic clown character was invented as comic relief, dressed up as silly as possible to distract us with physical comedy. But that heavy makeup and happy-go-lucky act struck us as someone who is hiding their true nature.

The roots of clowns that range from untrustworthy to downright murderous go back further than you might think, but it's only been in the last 50 years or so that we have more horrifying clowns than humorous clowns. Today, you'd have a hard time finding a just plain funny clown in pop culture. Dr. Emily Zarka looks at the history of creepy clowns and the psychological forces that make them the monsters we see today.