It hasn’t been a great season for those with a fear of clowns. What with the slew of typical horrifying clown masks parading around town on Halloween, and also with a remarkable number of creepy clown sightings making headlines and circulating on social media.  On this episode of Listen with the Lights on, we wanted to get to the bottom of this fright…So we talked to a clown.

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. It’s not an official phobia—it’s not recognized by World Health Organization or the American Psychiatric Association. But some people are just terrified by them. Clowns are supposed to make us laugh. Why do they inspire fear instead?

The fall of 2016 has been a rough one for coulrophobics. Several US cities have experienced a number of menacing clown sightings. In some cases law enforcement was called. The news spread like wildfire on social media. Major news outlets covered it.

Some experts say this type of evil clown panic happens every few years, driven by hype from pop culture. We’ve brought in an actual clown to shed some light on the phenomenon. Meet Ragliacci a working clown out of Troy, New York.

Do you have a fear of clowns? Do you have another type of fear? Tell us about it! Email us at [email protected].

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