Two Camps – Kindness, Comedy and Terror

There are numerous venues in which clowns appear: rodeos, parties, parades, nursing homes, circuses, hospitals, fairs, festivals, parks and community events. Though each of these venues requires different skill sets, at the same time I believe that these clowns have the same goals and motivations. They want to share love and laughs. They care about the positive well-being of their audiences. They use comedy to bring stress relief, a different vantage point by which to process life, entertainment that gives the audience opportunity to laugh even in the midst of tension. The goal? Smiles.  The process? Relationship.  The motivation? Loving kindness. These people are clowns because they want to help people have a “better day."

There is a second group of costumed characters that use the title “clown,” that come from a totally different camp.  The type of entertainment they offer appeals to the darker part of people’s imaginations. They don’t portray characters of kindness, but of terror.  They appeal to violent fantasies and quirky, unsettling feelings. Their goal?  Fear.  I understand that some audiences  enjoy the ­­adrenaline rush they get from the "horror genre" of entertainment.  But I struggle with the idea of these horror characters even being considered in the same category as the wholesome, funny clown.

A Haunted House event may have a "doctor" wearing surgical gear and carrying a bloody chainsaw. People need to understand that this character is NOT a real doctor. He is a person portraying an evil character in order to scare people. In the same way, people dressed as horror clowns are not "real clowns." They are dramatic horror characters wearing a costume which is impersonating the look of a clown (in a scary way.) Others in the haunted house dress as other characters, and use their background to also scare the attendees. Their process is to take something innocent and wholesome and pervert it to create fear in their audience.

  

I am a professional clown, and I admit – the make-up, masks and costuming on these characters known as “horror clowns” even scares me!  But, that’s not what good, wholesome, family-friendly clowns do! They offer R-rated entertainment. I’m G-rated: appropriate for all ages.

The goal of these horror characters is to startle people.  They jump out of a dark hallway to scare the unsuspecting. Sometimes they move slowly in unpredictable eerie ways reminiscent of an animal with rabies. They are sick and unpredictable.

This is totally different than the clowns in the first camp (wholesome clowns) who interact with their audience, not by forcing their way into an another’s personal space,  but by inviting their audience to join the fun.  We bring smiles, giggles, playfulness and good feelings….the antithesis of the horror characters.

The clowns I know are proponents of positive, family-friendly entertainment. We believe the art of clown is something to be treasured and enjoyed by audience's world-wide. Our goal is to bring a happy, joyful, creative, caring, positive, and fun experience to audiences. We share laughs and "comic relief" everywhere for the positive, wholesome, enjoyment of our audiences. Hurting children in hospitals and senior citizens in nursing care facilities love and appreciate the comedic care that clowns bring.

The general pubic often does not take time to evaluate the differences between these two camps. All they see is someone in a costume with make-up (or a mask) on the face, and some conclude the worst possible scenario…that they have just encountered a horror character (dressed as a clown.) If that’s what has been fed into their imaginations, that’s probably the first conclusion they will reach.

At many of the events I perform at, I encounter people with an initial fear of me. But quickly, by my friendly, gentle, kind demeanor – with a strong mix of comedy – I win over those who claim fear of horror characters. They realize I'm innocent and loving and harmless. (Not the image that a horror character gives: They're not harmless. They are harmful!) One of my goals is to reach these people and allow them to experience the joy and humor of interacting with a “real clown.” Once they’ve experienced that, they then have a basis to understand that not all clowns are “horror characters.”

I've come to accept the fact that the "horror genre" is here to stay. Creepy clowns will continue on in certain entertainment venues. They certainly do capture people's imaginations. At the same time, I also want to help people understand that those characters do not relate at all to what true clowning is about. 

As a child specialist, I also want to warn parents that exposing young children to horror characters (whatever they may be) is unwise and detrimental to children's emotional health. Over and over, those who claim to have fear of clowns testify that they were exposed to violent, creepy horror characters when they were young. Those fearful memories linger on throughout life. I'm often amazed at the number of parents that have allowed their young children to watch the R-rated horror flicks. 

Please......PLEASE.....be wise and provide positive, family-friendly, wholesome, kind entertainment for children of all ages. That's my goal.