Perhaps the best-known and most effective creepy clown in the history of movies is “Pennywise” from the Steven King movie “It”.  Pennywise looks very much like “Bozo”, except with razor sharp teeth and a proclivity to lead children to their grisly demise.  Other than his nasty demeanor, there is nothing creepy about Pennywise.  He doesn’t wear an “evil clown costume”, for instance.  In the story of “It”, Pennywise is a tormentor of a group of friends.  Certainly this is a potent image for people who already dislike clowns.

More recently, Heath Ledger’s famous portrayal of “The Joker” in the movie “The Dark Knight” has added fuel to the anti-clown fires.  Though nothing at all like Pennywise, The Joker still managed to unsettle viewers.  The Joker is a very creepy clown.  He is a criminal and a sadist.  He delights in the psychological, and sometimes actual, torture of others.  He also robs a bank, in the opening of the film, wearing an evil clown costume.

Before either of these two characters were unleashed on the public consciousness, people already disliked clowns.  After seeing those two creepy clowns, however, some people truly hate clowns.  The fear or distrust of clowns is so palpable that some costume makers have actually begun selling “evil clown costumes”.  They look like a traditional Bozo-type clown, except the teeth will be sharp and there will be blood around the mouth or on the hands.  Also, one evil clown costume I saw advertised during the last Halloween season was a clown in a mental patient’s gown.  Clearly a lot of people find clowns creepy.

To someone afraid of clowns, a few creepy clowns may seem to represent all clowns.  But there are a great many clowns who aren’t creepy or evil.  Clown costumes themselves are meant not to spark fear but rather to amuse and delight.  Still, some clown costumes are specifically evil.  This is more in response to people’s existing fear of clowns rather than a cause of that fear.

A clown can be creepy without wearing an evil clown costume.  Someone wearing an evil clown costume would probably be creepy to anyone.  But even a nice, loveable circus scamp might cause some consternation to people who find clowns creepy.  There really is nothing to fear from nice clowns, though.  Creepy clowns, on the other hand, are scary and should be avoided by everyone.

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The typical clown makeup consists of white makeup applied to the face and neck, completely covering the skin color.  The official name of this particular color white is “clown white”.  The next step in applying clown makeup is to apply a red outline roughly following the outlines of the mouth, but much wider.  This gives the clown his typical “clown smile”.  Add some color—again, red is a common choice—to the eyes.  Top it all off with a red nose, and the clown makeup is complete.

Of course, the clown makeup is just one part of the total clown effect.  Every bit as important as the clown makeup is the clown costume.  A brightly-colored wig, often with curly hair, is the first bit of the clown costume.  Many clowns choose to wear a hat on top, but nearly all at least wear a wig.  Bright suspenders are next, holding up oversized trousers.  Add an old tweed jacket and some very large shoes, and your clown costume is complete.

Clown makeup has been much the same for a hundred-and-fifty years.  The “whiteface” clown character, the most recognizable clown type, employs the stereotypical clown makeup.  Many “clowns” from different cultures around the world use similar clown makeup, though their clown costumes often differ wildly.  In America, what we would call the typical clown costume is that of the “hobo clown”.  This is a distinctly American creation, however.  European clowning focuses more on the harlequin traditions of clowning dating back to the middle ages.  Though the clown makeup in European clowning is similar—with darker colors replacing the bright reds that American clowns use—the clown costume is often very different.  Where Americans view clowns as lovable scamps, Europeans see clowns as other-worldly tricksters.  European clowns, to complement their austere clown costumes, often engage in magic tricks and dazzling feats of agility, where American clowns focus more on slapstick comedy.

It is interesting to note how little has changed in either clown makeup or clown costumes over the last hundred-and-fifty years in America.  Children in the Antebellum south delighted at the antics of lovable scamp clowns, the same as children do today.

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