Midnight Facts for Insomniacs

The Weird, Uncomfortable, Creepy History of Clowns


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Few characters from pop culture are as divisive as clowns. Simultaneously endearing and terrifying, the archetype of the clown has persevered throughout the ages despite being reviled by a significant portion of the world’s population. There’s even a word for the fear of clowns: coulrophobia.

So how did ancient jesters and tricksters evolve into the unsettling, white-faced, crazy-haired clowns of today? And what makes the figure of the clown so durable? Find out in this week’s buffoonish, pratfalling, skin-crawling episode of MFFI.

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In this episode:  

  • Ancient Egypt and the "Dangas"
  • Ancient Greece
  • Ancient Rome and the “Stupidus” 
  • Court Jesters and Fools
  • Loki
  • The Hayuka
  • Carl Jung's "Trickster" Archetype
  • Commedia dell'arte
  • The Pierrot
  • The Harlequin
  • Joseph Grimaldi ("Joey")
  • Philip Astley and the Circus
  • The Whiteface, the Auguste, the Character and the Hobo
  • Emmett Kelly’s “Weary Willie”
  • Charlie Chaplin (Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr.)
  • Music Hall and Vaudeville
  • Marcel Marceau, Michael Jackson, and the Art of Mime
  • Bozo the Clown
  • Fear of Clowns: Coulrophobia
  • The Joker
  • Stephen King's It
  • The Clown Panic of 2016
  • Insane Clown Posse and the Jugallos 
  • Terrifier 2 and "Art the Clown"
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    Episode Transcript

     

     

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    Midnight Facts for InsomniacsBy Shane Rogers

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