Now, I don't agree entirely with the below, but it made me laugh:
"
People Who Claim to Be Afraid of Clowns
"These people (and they are numerous) are attempting to cultivate a cute quirk, but they are really just aping a cute quirk cultivated by thousands of cute-quirk-cultivators before them in a giant, gross, boring feedback loop. Yes, clowns can be mildly creepy. But come on. Among the many things that are scarier than clowns: fire, earthquakes, a guy with a knife, riding the bus, colon cancer, falling down the stairs (it could happen at any time!), rapists, people who just kind of look a little rapey and are standing too close to you in line at 7-Eleven, Marlo from
The Wire
, influenza, and scissors." -- Lindy West @ the Stranger
[
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/the-different-kinds-ofpeople-that-there-are/Content?oid=1206006
] The whole article is generally hilarious and true, though with coarse language by the consumption of which some of our less-jaded readers may be forever altered.
See my (potentially wasted) ruminations on coulrophobia heres: 1/28/08 & 7/18/08.
Post script: The above image may take some figuring to associate with this topic, but fans of horror fiction and 80s miniseries should be all set.