Clowning Around Encounter funny, or scary?
Moviegoers are proving with their entertainment dollars that they like scary clowns.
Since “It” hit theaters nationwide Sept. 8, it's set box office records. Based on a Stephen King novel of the same name, the R-rated film is the story of a clown who crawls from the sewers to torment seven children.
“Being scared makes people feel a little alive. We're so sheltered. Prehistoric man was constantly beset by fight or flight,” said David Skeele, a professor of theater at Slippery Rock University who has written horror plays.
“I think we're always scared on some level, but they are often little insubstantial (fears) and hard to identify,” Skeele said. “It's the idea of being able to take all those shadowy or insubstantial fears and be able to make them specific.”
Donna Korczyk, a licensed psychologist in Cranberry Township, said, “It's kind of weirdly a relief to experience scary stuff that you know isn't real. It's kind of a way of dealing with your fears, but you have control over it.”
She said people find clowns particularly disturbing because their faces don't change. Clowns look and act in unfamiliar ways that can make people uneasy.
“They look human, but they're not really acting human,” Korczyk said.
“We're going to be disturbed because part of our mind is saying 'This could be dangerous. Be aware,'” she said.
Dale Pinkerton, a Butler resident now retired after eight years as a Butler County commissioner, has been a Shriner clown for 34 years. He's not trying to scare anyone.
“I'm Pinky the Clown,” he said. “There are many different faces, but I happen to be a white face.”
It upsets Pinkerton that some clowns try to frighten people.
Clowns of the Syria Shrine make about 20 appearances each year, mostly at parades, picnics and children's events in the Pittsburgh area. The Shrine Circus, their largest event, raises money for Shrine hospitals.
“It's really to laugh and have a good time,” Pinkerton said. “I love children. I love to see them smile.”
“There are some little kids who are scared of us,” he said. “We try to always give them a balloon — to a parent or someone else. When they leave they have something and the next time they see a clown they won't be as afraid.”
Second-generation rodeo clown Trent McFarland sometimes applies his clown face outside his tent. That can help frightened children because they can see his transformation, he said.
“It's not like the circus clown. I'm with the microphone and telling jokes,” said McFarland, who also improvises and provides a diversion when rodeo action isn't going as planned. “A lot of people who are scared of circus clowns aren't scared of me.”McFarland, formerly of Chicora and now living near Montgomery, Ala., became a professional clown in 1993. He performed at the North Washington Rodeo in August as a traditional rodeo clown wearing a yellow wig.“I have very little one-to-one interaction. I step into the arena in front of 5,000 people and have to entertain everybody,” McFarland said.“I can just spot people (afraid of clowns) by how they are stand-offish or run away screaming,” McFarland said. “It's a real fear.”Adults who do like frightful clowns, can find them in Connoquenessing Township where Rick Kradel is co-owner of a haunted house at Eerie Acres Farm, 386 Eagle Mill Road. Guests visit indoor and outdoor scenes and investigate a maze.Eerie Acres Farm is now a business. Kradel said it allows the perception of fear without the dangers.People dressed as clowns started haunting the farm at least eight years ago when clowns were just starting to emerge in other seasonal haunted houses.Customers want clowns, Kradel said, and the farm doesn't let them down. Eerie Acres Farm features a scene with three clowns.“These are just people who like to scare people,” Kradel said. “You just need to be in a clown suit and people are afraid of you.”However, he dislikes horror films with their blood and guts. Those aren't emphasized at Eerie Acres Farm.“We try to be scary, but we just try to keep everything in very good taste,” Kradel said.“We're not trying to demonize a clown,” he said.“I frighten real easy,” said rodeo clown McFarland. He said he gets chills just thinking about the last scary movie he saw with his wife.“I truly dislike scary clowns. I'm not for any type of horror films — things like demonic possession or things that promote evil. I'm about bringing happiness and joy to the world,” McFarland said.He said creepy clowns in horror movies put him in a very bad light and have made his job more difficult. He can no longer promote the rodeo at events where he might appear unexpectedly and scare someone.“I think this whole scary clown business for the past couple years has gotten a lot worse,” McFarland said.He believes one cause is marketing for “It” and another is television news. “Someone will get shot over it,” said McFarland about reported clown pranksters. “(It is a) dangerous situation to put themselves in if they run around and terrorize people.”Skeele at SRU said horror as an art form can be maligned, but he acknowledged that's warranted when it panders to people's worst fears.“Sometimes it can be an awful thing that (we're) better without,” Skeele said.
