While Jaclyn Andrews canB次元官网网址檛 rationally explain her fear of clowns, sheB次元官网网址檚 been avoiding them for years.

Walking the midway at local fairs is totally out of the question, and lately sheB次元官网网址檚 considered double checking with fellow parents before attending kidsB次元官网网址� birthday parties.

She realizes that might sound a little silly to some, but the clowns that haunted her nightmares as a young girl still evoke bad feelings.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 panicked, canB次元官网网址檛 breathe, sweaty,B次元官网网址� says Andrews, 35, describing how she feels when she sees a clown.

B次元官网网址淚 get the overwhelming need to get out B次元官网网址� and now.B次元官网网址�

The fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, is a relatively new phenomenon with very little research behind it. And while itB次元官网网址檚 not considered an official phobia by the World Health Organization, its sufferers say the experience is very real.

Pshh, you guys are afraid of EVERYTHING.

B次元官网网址� IT Movie馃巿 (@ITMovieOfficial)

Andrews, a resident of Hamilton, feels anxious thinking about the days ahead when evil clowns will be a focal point of popular culture and practically impossible to avoid.

A remake of Stephen KingB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址� arrives in theatres next week and is expected to draw huge audiences intrigued by the titular shapeshifter, also known as Pennywise, who often takes the form of a clown.

And the upcoming sixth season of B次元官网网址淎merican Horror Story,B次元官网网址� which begins airing Tuesday on FX Canada, is generating buzz for the return of Twisty, a demented clown with a taste for trickery and murder.

Clowns have existed since ancient Egypt, although their trademark white faces and colourful costumes werenB次元官网网址檛 established until the early 1800s when British entertainer Joseph Grimaldi began playing Joey the Clown. A similar look was adopted by Scottish businessman John Bill Ricketts when he brought the modern circus to the United States a few years later.

For many decades the happy-go-lucky personas of modern clowns like Bozo and Ronald McDonald seemed in style, but a notorious American serial killer is considered to be the inspiration for the advent of the more sinister brand of clowns.

Before he was convicted for the murders of 33 young men in 1980, John Wayne Gacy seemed like a relatively average guy, who sometimes dressed as Pogo the Clown, a character he created while volunteering at childrenB次元官网网址檚 hospitals. After he was jailed, Gacy painted portraits of himself in clown costume and the artwork became the focus of exhibitions B次元官网网址� and protests.

B次元官网网址淧eople learn to be afraid from the movies they see, and from the news they read B次元官网网址� watching other people be afraid,B次元官网网址� said Martin Antony, a professor of psychology at Ryerson University.

B次元官网网址淕acy may have triggered certain directors and writers to portray clowns in that way, and that may have exacerbated fear of clowns.B次元官网网址�

Two years after GacyB次元官网网址檚 conviction, the film B次元官网网址淧oltergeistB次元官网网址� featured a scene in which a young boy is dragged under his bed by a toy clown brought to life in the middle of the night. And KingB次元官网网址檚 novel B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址� was released in 1986 and adapted for TV in 1990, with Tim Curry playing the creepy Pennywise.

Andrews swears watching the B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址� miniseries in middle school scarred her for life, especially moments like its opening scene in which a young boy is lured by the killer clown to a sewer.

B次元官网网址�(B次元官网网址業tB次元官网网址�) just did it in for me,B次元官网网址� she says.

The fascination with vicious clowns only grew as B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址� became a favourite at video stores during the 1990s and other forgotten films like 1988B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淜iller Klowns from Outer SpaceB次元官网网址� found another life on DVD alongside the clown-like doll used by serial killer Jigsaw in the B次元官网网址淪awB次元官网网址� horror movies.

Much to the dismay of professional clown performers, those portrayals helped take the wholesomeness out of a character once considered a fixture of family entertainment.

Rami Nader, a psychologist at the North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic in Vancouver, says some people are leery of clowns because they fear their exaggerated painted smiles obscure their true emotions, which makes them unpredictable.

B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 know really what theyB次元官网网址檙e feeling, what theyB次元官网网址檙e thinking or what theyB次元官网网址檙e going to do,B次元官网网址� Nader says.

A spate of creepy-clown sightings reported across North America last year didnB次元官网网址檛 help their negative perception. Perhaps inspired by popular prank videos on YouTube, reports of individuals wandering through neighbourhoods while wearing menacing clown masks began to spread. In the U.S., Target stopped selling scary clown masks as a result.

Frank McAndrew, a professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, says he learned how deeply opinions of clowns have eroded after his study of B次元官网网址渃reepiest occupations.B次元官网网址�

The online survey, which canvassed 1,341 people, found respondents were bothered by people whose jobs held ambiguous threats, and in particular individuals who made physical contact or exhibited B次元官网网址渘on-normative, non-verbal behaviour.B次元官网网址�

Clowns ranked as the creepiest, worse than taxidermists, sex shop owners and funeral directors.

McAndrew says he found the ambiguity of a clownB次元官网网址檚 performance art seemed to rattle the respondents the most.

B次元官网网址�(They said), B次元官网网址榃e donB次元官网网址檛 know if thereB次元官网网址檚 something to be afraid of, but we have a paralysis about not knowing whether we should be scared,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said.

The professor also discovered some members of the clown community werenB次元官网网址檛 exactly helping rebuild their reputation as non-threatening. After his study was published, McAndrew said some clowns began to B次元官网网址渟talkB次元官网网址� him on social media and called the president of his college in an attempt to get him fired.

But McAndrew also found that discussions about his findings online revealed a stark apathy from even those who arenB次元官网网址檛 afraid of clowns.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 recall seeing anybody ever saying, B次元官网网址榊ou know, I really like clowns,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he added.

David Friend, The Canadian Press