Gallery: These Are The Real, Scientific Reasons For Why People Are Terrified Of Clowns

When Stephen Sondheim wrote the song “Send In The Clowns” in 1973, he was not referring to the nightmare fuel that is men and women dressed in big shoes, oversized clothes, and face paint. 

Traditionally hired as entertainment for children, clowns have gotten a bad rap over the past half century. There are a few cultural moments that greatly contributed to the fear of Bozos, which we will get to shortly, but there are also scientific reasons why so many people feel uncomfortable around people offering up their balloon animals.