Example 6: The Fear of Clowns
In any case, an irrational fear of clowns is a recognized clinical phobia known as coulrophobia. It's more widespread than one might think, especially among children. A study conducted by the University of Sheffield in England found that all of the more than 250 children surveyed disliked clown images as part of the decor in hospitals. Even some of the older children, some of them in their mid-teens, found the images frightening. "As adults we make assumptions about what works for children," one of the authors of the study was quoted as saying. "We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them frightening and unknowable."That "unknowability" the researcher spoke of may be the key to clowns' essential creepiness, not to mention the horror they're capable of evoking in movies and urban legends. We're accustomed to reading people's emotional states and motivations in their facial expressions. Who knows what evil may lurk beneath a clown's painted face? Children do, apparently. Perhaps it's a lesson worth remembering.
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