Clowns not a laughing matter

Kids don't like clowns.

This story came out of England recently: A survey conducted by the University of Sheffield polled 250 kids, ages 4 to 16, and concluded that hospitals should never use clown images to decorate children's wards. One researcher said clowns were universally disliked by children.

"Very few children like clowns," child psychologist Patricia Doorbar told the BBC. "They are unfamiliar and come from another era. They don't look funny. They just look odd."

A vocal minority has always thought clowns were suspect, especially creative writers, who seem drawn to the idea of demonic clowns, as in Stephen King's "It," a novel that became a TV movie about a child-murderer dressed as a clown.

Other demon-clown movies include "Clownhouse" (1990) and "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" (1988).

Still, clowns continue to make the rounds at birthday parties, in circus rings and in cartoons. Bozo, Clarabell, Ronald McDonald. They never disappear from pop culture.

Child psychologist Brian Belden said there is such a thing as irrational fear of clowns (the clinical term is coulrophobia) that afflicts children and adults. But there's no clear explanation for why some people develop a clown phobia, he said, although it's logical to assume that they may have had a traumatic encounter with one in childhood.

Vicky Dunn, who has performed as a birthday clown for 22 years, said most kids aren't afraid of her.

"I have gone to less makeup, thinking that is less frightening for the children," Dunn said. "My goal is to convince them they should not be afraid of clowns. We do get bad press, but I'm usually able to win them over. I don't force myself on a child if they're afraid. I let them come to me."

This winter, Dunn was part of a Caribbean cruise where about 60 professional clowns participated in a workshop.

"They told us that because of clown phobia, they did not want us to go around in our costumes and upset the people," she said. "We only dressed up one day for the small parade through the ship, and nobody was running away from us."

Professional clown and mime Beth Byrd said she isn't surprised by the British survey's conclusion.

What we think of as traditional circus clown makeup -- Emmett Kelly, et al -- comes from the primitive lighting of three-ring circuses in the 19th century. The exaggerated features and oversize clothes were necessary to be seen.

But Byrd said she comes from the European theatrical clown tradition. The makeup is less garish. Bodily proportions are less extreme.

"I perform at libraries a lot," she said. "I don't wear the oversize shoes .... My mouth is my real mouth. I paint my own nose. They have to be able to tell you're human."

For three years Stephanie Roberts, who teaches physical theater at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, performed in Seattle as part of Clown Care, a program of the Big Apple Circus in New York. Last year, the program entertained 250,000 kids in hospitals nationwide.

"One thing we would often experience in the hospitals is that we would be met by adults who would stop us and say, 'Oh, they [the kids] don't like clowns,'" Roberts said.

So many people carry casual misconceptions about clowns that Roberts is sometimes reluctant to state her profession in mixed company.