What causes coulrophobia?

[runningwithscissors]

Hey guys, I'm new here but I've had a huge fear of clowns ever since I was 6 years old cos a clown tried to molest me, but I was wondering if there's a known list of triggers that cause coulrophobia

[Man_From_UNCLE]

The mere sight of a clown causes it in some people, even if it's just a picture.

[ben]

Hi runningwithscissors

Did a clown genuinely try to molest you? What happened?


ben.

[simienne]

I dunno what causes any phobia. But it does rather seem to stem from an negative experience in childhood. I suspect it has a lot to do with neural and emotional development at critical periods in childhood development....

But why some people are prone to phobias and not others, I am afraid I know not.

I was about 6 when THE FEAR kicked in too...

[runningwithscissors]

Yeah he genuinely tried to molest me he was the dad of one of my best friends and he was performing at his 6th birthday party and then after his act he told me that he wanted to show me something and tried to lock me in the bathroom with him but I ran away and I sprinted all the way back home which must have been nearly a mile away and ever since then I've been terrified of clowns

[DownWithTheClowns]

:shock: oh my god thats horrible!!!! :shock:

but, unhappy as the fact is, "predators" (f you will) do dress up like clowns to attract little children. why, just oo.. last week i was watching something on the news and the woman said "in other news, so and so was arrested after trying to molest multiple school children. Mr. So n So was dressed as a clown, and telling the children to follow him to see his tricks." and thats all that i remembered before i ran out of my room and into the living room where my mom was, and yelled "HA ANOTHER REASON CLOWNS ARE EVIL!"

so there :D it's proof :D

[malakh]

My dislike doesn't QUITE rise to the level of phobia, but close. Clowns definitely give me the creeps. I don't really know why, either. Very little frightens me, but clowns make my skin crawl (well, that and spiders).

I can remember being a kid about six or seven, and my parents taking me to a circus. Afterwards we went to go see the animals and I remember a clown coming up to us, and me just screaming blue murder to get it AWAY from me. My parents couldn't even take me to a circus as a kid. I find the Emmett Kelly "tramp" style of clown less nauseating (though that's a far cry from actually liking them), but the classic whitefaced clown is just awful. Now even when I see them on TV, I get that little shiver of atavistic terror.

They are all such nasty, vile, evil little monsters.

[GoodClownsRDeadOnes]

wow that sucks......i thought i had a reason to hate clowns......see my story elsewhere on this site.........one thing that confuses me is that colouraphobia is the fear of clowns....but i don't fear them i just hate them...so what's the term for that?

you certainly have justified colouraphobia....... :cry:

[GoodClownsRDeadOnes]

wow that sucks......i thought i had a reason to hate clowns......see my story elsewhere on this site.........one thing that confuses me is that colouraphobia is the fear of clowns....but i don't fear them i just hate them...so what's the term for that?

you certainly have justified colouraphobia....... :cry: