Are you afraid of clowns?

Honestly?

This topic should probably be moved to OT. But honestly, if I was approached by Sweet Tooth (from the Twisted Metal series) with a chainsaw I wouldn't be that cocky.

no but I hate clowns, I hate circus in general.

Which is ironic because you seem to have some kind of a circus freak as your avatar.

we are all reading this, so what do you think??? :)

moved to off-topic

Nah.

I'm slightly afraid of internet clowns.

But seriously, I heavily dislike the circus...well, circus that have animals as part as their act; if it's a circus with only people I still don't love it but I don't hate it either. Clowns in general...I find them annoying and not funny; that's all...never really understood fear of clowns; I'd appreciate it if anyone could clarify it for me.

@korvus: Unless it's from this guy, I don't get it either

@mattbbpl: I think they created IT from the fear of clowns and not the other way around, but I might be wrong. Also, I happen to find IT quite cute XD

@korvus: Oh, I have no doubt that you're correct on that one.

Hmmm.... I can kind of see Tim Curry's rendition of IT as cute (as well as brilliantly played), but the clown from the book scared the living tar out of me back in the day.

Maybe it's the contrast between the friendly appearance and laughter while it commits horrible atrocities. Maybe it's the fact that it used the appearance to initially lull it's victims into a false sense of security and then later to torment it's victims to "enhance the flavor." Whatever the reason, I found the character to be incredibly creepy.

@mattbbpl: Haven't had the pleasure of reading the book yet but it's on my list =D

Haha.... You'd better get on it. The thing's longer than the Bible.

Literally.

It's hard for me to make a unilateral recommendation of it. I loved it. It's very unique, and the characterization is excellent - that's really where it excels.

That being said, things tend to get weirder and weirder as the page count rises. The end loses a lot people. If you're fine with a story swinging for the fences and leaving any grounding in reality behind, then I recommend it without hesitation.

I've never been scared of clowns, nor do I understand why they scare people. Makes no sense to me.

@mattbbpl: The spider thing? That was the first thing I saw of IT on tv and was wondering what the hell was happening. When I was told it was the ending of IT I was like "What the hell? Wasn't this supposed to be about clowns?" and they replied "yeah, but the clown is now a spider"...yeah, sure, why not?

@korvus: The spider is involved, but that's now what I'm referring to, specifically. In the book, the fact that IT is a "spider" is revealed pretty early on. I don't want to give anything away that you didn't get from the movie, so it's a little hard to convey. The ending of the book is basically unfilmable. Perhaps someone more creative than I could do it justice, but I really don't even know where you would begin.

It's a melding of folklore, science fiction, childlike belief/imagination, and theology. An integral plot point actually takes place inside the minds of IT and Bill.

@mattbbpl: I haven't really watched the movie either, it just happened to be on (and 5 minutes left on it) on TV when I was visiting friends =)

Perfect, then there aren't really any spoilers :-P

And as much as I like Curry, the book is definitely better.

Not remotely.

I assume you need a traumatic childhood experience with a clown. "shrugs"

Coulrophobia has actually been the subject of some serious academic studies, and clowns feature quite prominently in horror movies ...

i never cared for clowns, i grew up with the joker so, meh...

Hated clowns as kid, my parents used to get a clown for my birthday every year and I hated it. I out grew the clown fear but It the Clown, that movie made me afraid of them.

@Stesilaus:

yes, Killer Klowns from Outer Space had some scary clowns

clowns arent scary, they are weird but not something that causes fear.

Nope, but i wouldn't mind having a clown posse. Just imagine, some punk messes with you, and then your clown friends pop out of no where, or one car just like the circus, lol .. 6 clowns and me vs the punk, lmao ! That would be awesome !! Now what ? Lol ..