One summer, while on a visit to my parents' place, I stopped to visit a college friend who had recently moved into a small apartment in Truro, Nova Scotia with her significant other. As I walked down the hallway to their suite, I noticed a small, mass-produced ceramic Pierrot marionette discarded on the floor near their door. I picked it up and proceeded to greet my friend. However, when her boyfriend noticed that I was carrying the puppet , he reacted with obvious discomfort and asked that it be placed out of sight.
When the offending object had been once again removed, the couple calmly explained that he had an irrational fear of clowns, originating from childhood, and that she, having discovered this while unpacking poor Pierrot, and had subsequently agreed to dispose of him. (Apparently, her boyfriend had agreed to dispose of his collection of "naughty" Windows desktops in return.)
At the time, I thought that extreme fear and hatred of clowns was quite unusual in adults. (I have since discovered that the fear of clowns, more properly termed "coulrophobia", is one of the most common and remarked-upon phobias on the internet.) Sure, I could recount from personal experience the kinds of dreams kids get from the likes of "Killer Klownz from Outer Space", Stephen King's 'Pennywise' and , more recently, the "The Simpsons" ' odious 'Krusty'. Like all North American kids of my generation, I had also suffered from that incarnate childhood trauma known as "Ronald McDonald". However, this was my first encounter with a seriously clown-phobic adult.
Interestingly enough, as I began to examine my own clown-related childhood memories in detail, I had to admit that, deep down, I was a bit of a coulrophobe myself. After all, when you're two years old, having your parents voluntarily expose you to an oddly-costumed, hidden-faced stranger who allows a balloon (another thing that freaked me out as a kid) to pop just inches from your ears is no small matter. ( Yes, Chuckle Buddy, wherever you are, I realize that the balloon thing was an accident, but MAN, I was YEARS getting over that one.)
