Coulrophobia And The Clown Panic Of 2016

Coulrophobia is defined as the extreme or irrational fear of clowns. Many individuals today, especially teens and young adults who were young during the time of this incident, can likely admit to having this fear during the Clown Panic of 2016. It was a time where individuals dressed like killer clowns were reported to be chasing children throughout their neighborhood, in an attempt to stir fear and chaos. This panic grew rapidly across the United States and some areas of the United Kingdom after reports were shared with the public. The public brought this issue to a whole new level which consequently pleased the clowns, making them continue their efforts. This issue reflects the Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century where typical citizens of the city of Salem were being

The Clown Panic of 2016 started out as no more than just a few scared individuals reporting about someone wearing a clown mask trying to prank children by jumping out of bushes. However, the reports grew and soon all children, and adults, feared these “killer clowns.” This issue only continued to grow into “a number of people in the US [being] arrested, schools [releasing] letters warning parents and the subject even [cropping] up at a White House briefing last week” (McGann 15). In the beginning, these clowns really didn’t pose much of a threat to society, they would simply appear intimidating, but eventually more of the incidents were reported to be physical assaults. With the idea of being chased through your neighborhood by a stranger with a knife, clowns became a widespread issue across the United States, as well as the United Kingdom. Police warned all about the danger in performing antisocial behavior, since some individuals turned to the use of firearms for self-defense against the