As clowns did not make laugh, but scare people

Фото: Depositphotos

The new film version of the King's “Ono” is able to earn anyone's positive reviews, but certainly not clowns, because the image created by the writer spoiled a lot of blood for them. Indeed, it may seem that it is on Stephen King who is responsible for the emergence of co-rot phobia - panic fear of clowns. However, this is only half true. The irrational horror of the eerie circus fun was born a century ago and, sooner or later, would become part of popular culture, with or without King.

The story of the appearance of clown-phobia tells the publication Disgusting Man.

Postcard of French clowns 20 century.

It is now taken for granted that the clown profession has its dark side, the dark shadow that haunts this craft. She manifested in a series of games and films, like Until Dawn, Twisted Metal, Zombilend and Poltergeist. And, it seems, it is not surprising that the twisted grimace, frozen on the clown's face, causes fear in adults and children. Under a huge red, as if smeared with blood, a smile can not hide a joyful face at all, but a predatory grin. Big eyes look friendly at first glance, but it is worth tilting your head slightly, and they acquire a threatening shine. Japanese masks of a hannya, depicting an inconsolable sobbing demon, which in an instant turns into a terrible creature, which opened its toothed maw in an attempt to devour the victim, have a similar deceit.

How clowns turned from funny to scary

However, it took more than a century for this shadow to grow and begin to dominate the habitual way that had taken shape over the centuries. Familiar to us painted faces and bright clothes appeared at the end of the XIX century. However, later the artists began to experiment too extravagantly with a new look, and perhaps their thirst for novelty gave rise to the first doubts in the minds of the audience. For example, the famous clown on the estate of Emmett Kelly departed from the image of a merry clown, replacing a bright robe to ripped clothes of stray workers. There was no more smile on his face, on the contrary, the corners of the crooked white lips were looking down, and Kelly himself, calling himself "Sullen Willie", appeared before the public as depressed by life a failure. People first saw clowns in a different, darker light.

Kelly performed until the late fifties, until television appeared, and with it the new clown - Bozo. Bozo was supposed to be the favorite of children, whom he eventually became, entertaining from the television screen the boys and girls who had returned from school after noon. It is strange how his lush red hair, spreading on his bald head, was not associated with horns in children, and pale make-up with the whiteness of a corpse — this is exactly how Stephen King described his clown-demon in his book It. It seems, already then behind the back of the clowns there was a quiet, nervous laugh of a creature gaining strength.

John Wayne Gashi Jr. The story of the clown killer

He was born in 1942, becoming the third child and the only boy in the family. His father, a veteran of the First World War, waited for his son with impatience, hoping to grow a healthy strong heir. To his great regret, the boy suffered from heart failure and, surrounded by maternal care, moved very little. Father poured on a bottle and often came home drunk. The boy, who had no soul in him, often received a bashing from dad, being too small to understand what he had done.

Once, examining the details of the car, under which the father climbed, the baby accidentally dropped them on the floor. He found out about this, grabbed a broomstick and hit it with a bang on the child’s head, so much so that he fainted.

Oddly enough, the boy did not despair and grew up, still seeking his father's love. When he went to school, the mother, who had watched the beatings for many years, could not stand it and stood up for her son with tears in her eyes. She could no longer see her baby being beaten daily for no apparent reason. The boy, however, did not bring anything good. The father continued to whip him with a belt when his wife was not around.

Father's words hurt the boy even more than his fists or belt, which left bruises and bruises on his skin. According to a strange psychopathic logic, that is why he, along with another teenager, tried to seduce a very young schoolgirl. He did not understand why his father was so enraged to hear about it, because he tried to be a man, as he wanted. But the old man was implacable, as if he had broken off the chain, turned red and rushed around the room, like a mad dog. After giving way to anger, the man grabbed a razor and slashed his son.

Photo by wikipedia.org

The result of all the shocks suffered frequent fainting. The young man spent a whole year in the hospital, but he was never completely cured. Mother and sisters were worried about him, but this did not change the situation. A few years later, when he was already of full age, he hijacked a car from his father and drove off to Las Vegas. There he got a job as an orderly at the morgue (the only job he was hired for), determined to lead an independent life.

A few weeks later, yielding to an obscure motive, he climbed into the coffin to the embalmed dead. The lid was tightly closed, inside - the darkness. Nobody saw him. He ran his hand over the cold face, stroked his chest, and lowered the brush down the abdomen. Suddenly, panic seized him. What is he doing? What for? Frightened, he seemed like a spring jumped out of a coffin, fell on the floor and backed away, turning over with his hands and feet. He reached the phone, called home and, sobbing, begged his mother to take it back.

The happiest day in the life of a killer clown (except for murder)

Four years have passed. Parental home behind. He lives in his own house with his beautiful wife and two lovely daughters. The marriage turned out to be extremely successful: the father-in-law bought three KFC restaurants in Waterloo, and he, John Wayne Gaesy, was appointed manager in them. Monthly wealth in 15 thousands of dollars enough for everything you need, and even beyond that, to pamper his lovely girls. The work pleases, he finally found what is good, and there is still time left for the meeting of the national team, which he recently joined. There he was called the "Colonel", probably because he always brings fried wings and takes care of the participants. Soon parents should come. He will be glad to see them - his mother’s voice sounded awake on the phone.

Parents entered. Everyone hugged and sat down at the table. The old man, raising his chin, says: “Forgive me, son, for all that I have done. You are a good fellow, I was wrong about you. ”

According to the memories of relatives, the future killer clown rejoiced at the meeting as a child. According to the memoirs of Ghesi himself, he spent the whole evening scrolling the phrase in his head: “You are a moron, you will always be an idiot and grow up a fagot!”. He also recalled a dozen teenagers who came to work for him and then were afraid to tell the police about their psychopath. He felt as if he had deceived everyone, snatched the best in life, and finally earned the respect of his father. And that was just the beginning.

Term for seducing minors

Happiness did not last long. Soon, one of the employees, fifteen-year-old Donald Voerhees, wrote a statement about harassment to the police. Hesy was caught and convicted on 10 years of imprisonment for seducing three teenagers.

Through 18 months, he was released for good behavior. He no longer hoped to see his wife, who had taken the girls away from their pervert papa. The second marriage also failed. John could not stand even five years, declaring a new wife that she was not attracted to him, and they would no longer have sex. It happened in 1976, when he joined the Chicago clown club.

Murder

From now on, he lived alone in a large spacious house. A successful businessman, an exemplary citizen, cheerful clown, eagerly hugging children during the holidays. At night loneliness rolled. One day, he noticed a young man at the bus stop, absently looking around the neighborhood. In appearance, he was no more than 15 years. Something inside made Gacy stop. Perhaps this shadow finally found its companion. The young man was traveling from Michigan to Nebraska, and John offered him to stay at home. He agreed and was soon stabbed.

When John Wayne Gacy was arrested in 1978, by then he had already killed more 29 people. Waiting for the death penalty, he seemed to have no regrets about anything, drew clowns and handed over leaves to angry parents, who with public disgust burned them. Many fans of Stephen King's novel believe that it was Gacy who inspired the writer to create an evil clown, but he always repeated that he only wanted to create a universal monster that would frighten young children, and the clown, he said, turned out to be an ideal symbol.

Epidemics of scary clowns

In the fall of US 2016, a horror epidemic broke out that erupted on the eve of Halloween. The police in the small town of Greenville went to investigate several alarming reports at once. They talked about strange clowns who lured young schoolchildren into the thicket. Other children talked about persistent knocks on the door and the ringing of chains under the windows, and some of them even saw a clown blinking with green lights in the evening dusk. None of them managed to photograph these people, but the residents of other cities, in whom clowns soon appeared, also succeeded.

No matter how today clowns are indignant and protesting, but they will no longer expel what has grown over the course of a century.

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