Afraid of Clowns

"In my opinion, there are two kinds of people: those who fear and hate clowns... and clowns."

— Bobby, The Pendragon Adventure

In a lot of media, clowns evoke a sense of fear or dread in certain characters, even if they aren't a Monster Clown. Of course, fiction being what it is, means that the fear of such people or beings leads to a very large amount of over-dramatizing. This can be subverted, but expect in a kid's show the dumbest strong guy to fear clowns; in adult shows, it can either be the dumb person or the straight man. A character may have to face his fears in certain settings, especially when they're dealing with someone transforming into a clown.

And, as if it is not enough, some works pit the characters against a Circus of Fear, where a Monster Clown might be one of many. Then again, the narrative can lean into Faux Horrific or an Absurd Phobia for the characters if the clown itself is clearly harmless.

Truth in Television. As the Other Wiki discusses — children frequently fear clown-type decorations in doctor's offices and hospitals. It's implied that it might be tied into the Uncanny Valley. In fact, the sheer abundance of this trope has resulted in clowns becoming less common as entertainers in real life, since in recent years they're more likely to be seen as creepy rather than funny.

This is a very common sub-trope of Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?, which covers all sorts of very specific phobias. Everyone Hates Mimes is a related trope, regarding another type of entertainer that some people see as creepy.

As it would seem topical to point out, The Other Wiki's other languages go to great lengths to describe what a clown is even supposed to be, for starters, thus firmly placing the Creator Provincialism of this trope in the North Americas where even a phobia of them has developed.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Neo-America's representative Chibodee Crockett happens to be scared of clowns due to being held hostage as a child by a bunch of terrorists in clown outfits. This comes to a head in the Tournament Arc when he has to face off against Neo-Portugal's representative, who has a clown costume and a clown-themed mecha.
  Fred: Who would have thought your mom would hire the only clown in the world who uses a paper shredder as a prop?

Comic Books

• The first arc of the Bravest Warriors tie-in comic book by Boom Studios involves the Bravest Warriors having to help out a race of clown people, which is difficult for Danny because he's afraid of clowns.
• Depending on the Writer, Red Hood is sometimes portrayed as really hating clowns, a consequence of having been beaten to death by The Joker. It's honestly surprising that fear of clowns isn't a widespread phenomenon in the DC universe thanks to the Joker.

Comic Strips

• B.C. strip from November 7th 2013. The Adder (Snake) complains about the Fat Broad beating him with her club. The Apteryx advises him to dress up as something she doesn't fear. The Adder dresses up in a clown outfit and she clobbers him anyway, making it clear that she fears clowns.
• Crabgrass: During an October 2023 Halloween Story Arc in which Kevin and Miles end up in a Haunted House where they must face their fears, Kevin faces a clown. Since the arc mostly focuses on Miles, we don't get to see him confront the clown until 8 comics later, where he has managed to wrestle the clown to the ground and makes him say Uncle.
• In Lady Mechanika #3, Lady Mechanika and her assistant Lewis have to infiltrate 'Cirque du Romani', and it is revealed that Lewis is afraid of clowns.
• Nodwick revealed in one strip that minotaurs have a racial phobia of clowns thanks to Ronald being their god of death.

Fan Works

• In the fanfic Moving On, Ladybug is revealed to be creeped out by clowns.
• Pokémpanions: In New Year's Birthday, Lairon dresses as his clown persona Steele and performs at Eevee's birthday party. His toddler cousin Aron becomes frightened by his appearance and hides under a table, crying Tears of Fear.

Films — Animation

• Inside Out: Riley seems to be deeply afraid of clowns, as there is a Monster Clown named Jangles who is locked up in the darkest depths of her subconscious. It's said she sometimes has nightmares about him, and his mere presence is enough to wake her up. It's implied that this fear comes from a particularly traumatizing birthday party, where Jangles is actually a Non-Ironic Clown, but Riley was simply too afraid to realize this.
• KikoRiki. Deja Vu: Chiko the hedgehog is shown to be terribly afraid of clowns due to Krash's Arbor Day stunt. Ironically, when Krash tries to order some clowns for Barry's upcoming birthday party, he's told that they themselves have developed a fear of hedgehogs. He gets over his fear by the end of the film, if only because clowns seem like a cakewalk in comparison to what he and his friends get to experience.

Films — Live-Action

• Clownhouse: Our main character Casey has this fear. His brothers try help him overcome it by going to the circus where a Non-Ironic Clown still ends up scaring the shit out of him. Then it gets worse when a trio of escaped lunatics dress up as Monster Clowns and invade Casey's house when he's home alone with his older brothers...
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space: In a deleted scene, Debbie has a bad experience with clowns as a child. That made Debbie afraid of clowns ever since.
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action: A Deleted Scene has Daffy pitch a film idea to the studio that depicts Elmer as an insane supervillain. The idea is rejected due to Elmer seemingly dying, but Daffy insists he returns even more insane than before. Elmer doesn't like the idea at all because he feels he comes off as a crazy clown, stating that he's afraid of clowns before running off crying.
• Poltergeist. Robbie Freeling is afraid of a clown doll in his room. His fear turns out to be justified, as the ghosts haunting the home later animate it and use it to try to strangle him.
• Junior from the Problem Child series is afraid of clowns.
• In Zombieland, Columbus is afraid of clowns. At the end, a zombie clown stands between him and saving the girls. He Drops the Hammer and saves the day.
  Of course it had to be a clown...
  No, wait...
  it had to be a clown...
  and it had to be Wichita up there to make me realize...
  that some rules...
  RULE #17: DON'T BE A HERO —> BE A HERO
  ...are meant to be broken.
  Time to nut up or shut up.

Literature

• Coulrophobia is a short story about a shut-in who has nightmares about an abandoned circus. It involves a Monster Clown.
• In the Discworld, this is deliberately cultivated as part of the background to everyday life in Ankh-Morpork, where Clowns, Fools, Minstrels, Jesters, and Troubadors are a recognized Guild and considered to be both sinister and abjectly unfunny.
• It: Ironically inverted by probably the most fearsome Monster Clown in all media, Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Since the book is set far before coulrophobia became a commonly known fear, It actually uses Its clown guise to lure children into Its grasp, before it shapeshifts into whatever the victim fears most.
• Junie B. Jones: Junie B. does not like clowns. She claims that "they are not normal people". In "The Yucky Blucky Fruitcake", a clown annoys her and she shouts, "Back off, clown!" However, she dresses as a clown for Halloween in "BOO...and I MEAN It!".
• Nightmare Hour: In the short story "Afraid of Clowns", a boy named Christopher has a fear of clowns, and it doesn't get any better for him when he's taken to the circus. His fear turns out to be completely justified when the clowns turn him into one of them. He does embrace his new status as a Monster Clown, so at least he's not afraid anymore.
• The Pendragon Adventure: Bobby hates clowns. When he has to stay in a room full of clown dolls for the Quillan Games, he outright refuses, and only relents at first because there are no other rooms available.
• Speak: Minor character Ivy has an intense fear of clowns stemming from an incident in her childhood where she went to the circus and became terrified by the clowns working there. And unfortunately for her, she gets assigned "clown" as the subject of her big art class project.

Live-Action TV

• One of the victims in 1000 Ways to Die is a party clown who was coulrophobic as a child and hates his job.
• 9-1-1: Lone Star: Fire Captain Owen Strand's fear of clowns is revealed when just by chance, he and his crew have to rescue a man dressed as one. He denies his fear, but the rest of the crew points out how badly he's hiding it.
• American Horror Story: Cult: Ally has a crippling fear of clowns, which shouldn't be as big of a deal as it is, since she lives in a small suburb of Michigan, so her only real encounter with clowns should be Twisty in her son Oz's comic book. But then clowns start appearing everywhere around Ally in her town, and it turns out that Kai's cult dresses up as clowns. This is an early hint that Ivy is part of the cult and actually put Kai onto Ally in order to gain custody of Oz, telling him about her fear of clowns in order to make her look unstable and lose custody.
• On Bones, Booth is scared of clowns for a while; it doesn't come up much, and after he comes out of a coma he discovers he's no longer afraid of them.
• Alan Shore from Boston Legal suffers from both night terrors and a fear of clowns.
• The Brokenwood Mysteries: In one episode, a man involved in the case has a side job as a clown. Breen finds clowns unsettling and doesn't understand how children can enjoy them, which earns him some teasing from his superiors.
• In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Nightmares", it is revealed that Xander has a fear of clowns. He gets over it by beating up an evil clown created by a magical phenomenon that brought people's nightmares to life.
• Chicago Fire
  • The paramedics head to a cemetery to tend to a man whose arm is pinned under a fallen tombstone. While they're helping the man, they notice a group of clowns approaching. (It's a circus cemetery.) Sylvie completely freezes up and later confesses that she's afraid of clowns.
  • In season 5, Sylvie gets anxious when tending to a patient wearing clown duds. For the season 11 Halloween Episode, she gets put in charge of creating a haunted house for the neighborhood. Come Halloween proper, a group of children and their teacher show up for the haunted house. Since all the other haunted house committee members have scary costumes, Sylvie, dressed as a friendly witch, is selected to entertain the young visitors, only to encounter them all dressed up as clowns. She runs away in panic.
• Frasier: In "Boo!", Frasier tries to help a patient get over her fear of clowns by dressing as one. As it turns out, Martin's afraid of them too, and he even goes into cardiac arrest from witnessing Frasier in that suit.
• An episode of Good Eats had Alton develop a fear after being surrounded by clowns at a dinner table at the end of the episode.
• PJ in Good Luck Charlie mentions being afraid of clowns among other phobias he has.
• The Haunting Hour: The episode "Afraid Of Clowns" was about a boy named Chris who had a crippling fear of clowns, which doesn't bode well for him when the circus comes to town. On the night of his 13th birthday, Chris is brought to the circus, much to his horror. Then it's revealed that the clowns in the circus are a human-like species unto themselves, and Chris is one of them. His skin turns into that of a clown's not long after, basically dooming Chris to spend the rest of his life among his greatest fear.
• I'm in the Band: As revealed in the "What Do They Fear?" Episode, Ash is afraid of clowns, which is depicted as sillier than his bandmates' fears of spiders and snakes.
• In the Disney XD show Kickin' It, Jack reveals his fear of clowns. So, his dojo friends try to help him face his fear by making him defeat a mob of hired karate clowns.
• Legends of Tomorrow: In "Freakshow", Mick Rory is revealed to be afraid of clowns. He has to face his fear to save his friends at the end of the episode.
• Midsomer Murders: In "Send in the Clowns", a murder involving a circus (and a Monster Clown spotted roaming local villages carrying a machete) reveals that Chief Inspector John Barnaby has a phobia about clowns.
• The Mentalist. In "18-5-4", the Victim of the Week is scared of clowns, and his killer dresses as one while killing him.
• Modern Family: Phil has a fear of clowns. He claims it has nothing to do with the time he found a dead clown in a field as a kid.
• Raven's Home: In "Fears of a Clown", Raven reveals her fear of clowns when she sees one in the apartment hallway; said clown is eventually revealed to be the mother of Wally, the boy Booker and Levi have become fast friends with. Said fear threatens Wally's mother into never letting him visit again until Raven admits her apology through a clown performance herself.
• In series 8 of Shameless (UK), Jamie Maguire is revealed to have a serious fear of clowns, after seeing one choke to death when he was a child.
• Seinfeld: Kramer has a fear of clowns. This helps Joe Divola mess with him when he was dressed as Palliaci.
• One episode of Sesame Street, fittingly titled "Elmo's Fear of Clowns," has Telly and a group of kids trying to help Elmo overcome his fear of clowns. They try various methods, such as slowly putting each costume piece on Telly as Elmo watches, dressing Elmo himself up as a clown, and having him repeat the phrase "Elmo is not afraid of clowns" ten times, all of which fail. Telly is distraught by this, but Elmo still comes to comfort him despite him still being dressed as a clown. Elmo realizes that he's not afraid of clowns anymore, and everyone celebrates.
• In an episode of Sonny with a Chance, Chad babysits a group of kids with a fear of clowns from a youth center. However, through a mishap hair treatment to avoid losing his hair, he accidentally looks like a clown himself and scares them away.
• Supernatural: Sam Winchester, seasoned demon hunter who has fought monsters almost daily since childhood, really does not like clowns. This comes up a couple of times when the Monster of the Week takes the form of a clown.
  • First established in "Everybody Loves a Clown," in which the brothers investigate a circus whose patrons are being violently killed after they go home. The monster is a rakshasa, which appears as a clown to appeal to children, so they'll invite it in and it can eat the parents.
  • "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie" involves a pizza parlour. The parents of children who had a birthday party there end up murdered shortly after, by the children's worst fear. Sam ends up getting beaten up by two clowns before defeating them, and insists the experience was therapeutic.
    Dean: Killer clown? You're serious?
    Sam: No, Dean, I'm joking. Because clowns are really funny to me.
• In the That's So Raven episode "Big Fat Pizza Party", Cory reveals his fear of clowns when he objects to having a clown at William's birthday party. When Eddie pretends to be a clown to entertain the kids while Victor and the actual clown are running late, Cory is outright terrified and runs from him until he learns the truth, at which point he finally gets over his fear.

Podcast

• Subverted in The Thrilling Adventure Hour. As a boy and during his first encounter as a man, Frank Doyle is frozen with fear at the sight of Monster Clown boogeyman Nightmares the Clown. His wife Sadie, however, finds clowns of all kinds utterly hilarious and spends every encounter with Nightmares laughing at him and being incapable of taking him seriously. In subsequent encounters, Frank is no longer afraid of the nightmare clown monster either.

Theater

• British author Mike Green theorized that even Shakespeare knew clowns were unfunny and distinctly odd. He speculated that the lines attributed to them in the plays — which come across to modern readers as limp, nonsense text with no meaning to it — were "placeholders" for substituting sight routines and slapstick along with funnier jokes ad-libbed on the night, which appears to be the only way to make things work.

Video Games

• Grand Theft Auto V: Trevor has a bad history with clowns. During his specific "Grass Roots" mission, he hallucinates that he is being attacked by a load of Monster Clowns. As he fights them off, the things he screams at the clowns imply that he was molested by a clown when he was a child, hence his fear of them.
• In Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Barnaby is afraid of clowns. When the group faces boggarts — which take the appearance of Voldemort — your Riddikulus charm turns them into clowns, and Barnaby admits that he finds them even more terrifying afterward.
• Haunted Museum: At the end of Shh...! Welcome to Frightfearland, it seems that fighting the creepy amusement park full of evil clowns has given Chris a fear of them. A normal clown approaches him and this scares the crap out of him.
• In Kiki And Ana - The Child: When Kiki sees Ana's creepy clown doll Happy, she gets very nervous. Ana reads her mind and finds out that Kiki's terrified of clowns. Later, Ana uses this against Kiki to convince her to stay with her when she traps her in a circus-like area that has giant versions of Happy everywhere. After this, however, Kiki says she no longer fears clowns.
• Max: An Autistic Journey: The Max's Birthday DLC reveals that Max and several of his classmates are terrified of clowns, as they panic when the manager of the fast food restaurant dresses up as a clown to try and entertain them. This is especially ironic for Max because he likes scary monsters, as well as Five Nights at Freddy's, a horror game.^note Later games in the FNAF series actually feature several Monster Clown characters, but it's implied that Max has only played the first game, which doesn't have any.
• Moshi Monsters: According to Moshi Magazine issue 61, Big Bad Bill fears clowns (as well as teaspoons).
• Nekomew's Nightmares: One of the creatures in Nekomew's nightmares is a clown. Nekomew's doll mentions that when he was hospitalized, the doctors tried to cheer him up with a clown, but this only made him feel worse.
• Spectacular Sparky: Sparky is a Heroic Comedic Sociopath who constantly maintains a cheerful attitude, but he is horrified when he meets Melonhead, a floating, disembodied clown face. It's hard to tell whether or not Melonhead actually wants to fight Sparky, but there is a boss fight anyway, implying that Sparky is killing him just for being a clown.
• In Super Mario Odyssey, if Mario confronts Bowser in a clown costume, Bowser will specifically insist that the "totally scary costume" doesn't scare him despite stuttering his words. Ironic, considering that one of Bowser's favorite mode of transportation is a Clown Car.
• Nathan Drake of the Uncharted franchise claims to be afraid of clowns. When asked what his "fear scale" looks like, clowns are 10/10.
• Yume 2kki: Implied with Urotsuki — the game takes place in her Dream Land, and Monster Clowns show up as recurring Chasers, with some of the more nightmarish segments involving them.

Web Animation

• Helluva Boss: In "Loo Loo Land", Stolas says Octavia used to shed Tears of Joy when she saw Robo-Fizz the creepy robotic clown. Cue a flashback of a younger Octavia crying Tears of Fear when she's standing face-to-face with Robo-Fizz.
• Spooky Month: Deputy Jack is afraid of clowns, which turns out to be both helpful and harmful when he unloads numerous bullets into a cult leader clown.

Web Comic

• Discussed in Ennui GO!. Non-Ironic Clown Sarah tries to be as funny (and sexy) as she can because, as she puts it, "most people have a bone-peeling fear of clowns" and she tries to put them at ease. She thinks she might overdo it, though, giving some people Coulrophilia instead. Cut to one of her former clients dating a Juggalo.

Web Videos

• 50% OFF: Makoto mentions he's afraid of clowns when discussing his terrible last birthday party.
  Nagisa: That was not a clown, that was my Juggalo friend. Your fear WAS warranted, though; he was the one who set the piñata on fire.
• Played for Black Comedy in the after-credits ending of the third Spooky Month episode ("Unwanted Guest"). When the two cops, Sheriff John and Deputy Jack, investigate an old house used as a hideout by an evil cult, the cult's leader (who happens to be a clown) starts rambling about the cultists' vague evil plans. Jack starts panicking due to his extreme phobia of clowns, opening fire on the Clown without warning and unloading every bullet from his handgun just to put him down.
• Wolfychu reveals in "Weirdest Things That Scare Me" that she's feared clowns ever since she won a creepy clown plushie at a fair. She even had nightmares about it chasing her and claims that she still doesn't trust clowns.

Western Animation

• All Grown Up!: Chuckie has overcome most of his childhood fears, but he still fears clowns. In "Oh Bro, Where Art Thou?", when the kids are being assigned circus roles, he hopes that he doesn't get to be a clown.
  Chuckie: No clowns, no clowns. Don't like 'em, don't trust 'em.
• Animaniacs:
  • Wakko Warner and Thaddeus Plotz of Animaniacs are revealed to be terrified of clowns in one episode. Hilarity ensues when Plotz sends a clown over to the Warners for Wakko's birthday, only learning of his fear after doing so.
  • Subverted in Animaniacs (2020). When the Warners meet an actual Monster Clown named Nickelwise, they acknowledge Wakko's fear of them. It even looks as if Wakko is going to panic. Then he starts calling Nickelwise adorable and not scary at all.
• Ben 10: Ben is initially scared of clowns and the circus in "Last Laugh." Once Zombozo pushes him too far though, he decides to invert this trope. By Ben 10: Omniverse however, Ben relapses back into it after reliving the traumatic event that started it in the first place—seeing his grandpa turn into a zombie clown, which was just like how he saw his grandpa wear clown makeup when he was 5.
• Bob's Burgers: Implied with Andy and Ollie in "Bad Tina". Tammy gives Tina an excessive amount of makeup. Andy and Ollie scream in horror upon seeing them and Ollie yells, "Bathroom clowns!!"
• Camp Lazlo: In "Clown Camp", it's shown that Lazlo has hated clowns ever since a clown frightened him on his fifth birthday. Unfortunately, Lumpus has decided to make every day Clown Day.
• Cars on the Road: In "Show Time", Lightning McQueen dreads going to the circus due to his fear of clowns and does not enjoy their big show in the least. Mater suggests choosing McQueen to assist in the clowns' act as an "exposure therapy" thing, but thankfully for McQueen, they have Ivy join in instead.
• Caillou: In "Caillou is a Clown", Caillou's mother decides not to take Caillou and Rosie to the circus because there are clowns and Rosie hates them. Caillou is infuriated until his mother points out that he also used to fear clowns when he was Rosie's age, so he decides to help her get over this fear.
• The Fairly OddParents!: In "A Bad Case of Diary-Uh!", Vicky forces Timmy to watch scary movies and he mentions that clowns freak him out.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy:
  • Billy is deathly afraid of clowns, which so annoys Mandy that she decides to cure him, and ropes Grim into helping her.
    Billy: "Ya gotta believe me, Mandy! The clowns are nothin' but ultimate evil! They want to be the dominant species on the planet and they will destroy us all to make it happen! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! DESTROY US ALL! [at the cafeteria] I'll take the chicken! [cut to next scene] DESTROY US ALL!..."
  • Eventually, Billy's "inner frat boy" encourages him to not be afraid of clowns, but to instead be angry at them for being different. The cartoon ends with not just Billy, but also Mandy and Grim all hating clowns.
• Growing Up Creepie: Creepie may be a Creepy Child and a Nightmare Fetishist, but clowns are what creep her out the most. According to "Creepie Crawling", Creepie's been afraid of clowns since she was a baby, if her wailing at the sight of a painting of a clown is anything to go by.
• Johnny Bravo: Johnny's fear of clowns is a major plot point in "The Man Who Cried 'Clown'", when he is freaked out by a clown who keeps showing up on the window of an airplane.
• Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Invoked. When Kipo is trying to come up with ideas to keep Emilia's army from attacking Timbercat Village, she asks what would scare away humans. Benson suggests clowns (and admits a minute or two later that his suggestion isn't very helpful).
• Lilo & Stitch: The Series: Despite being a Nightmare Fetishist in general, Lilo is revealed to hate clowns in "Spooky". Naturally, Spooky turns into one to frighten her.
• Littlest Pet Shop (2012): In "Sue Syndrome", Sue is extremely nervous about having to give a speech at an assembly. Youngmee suggests imagining that the audience is full of clowns and this just freaks Sue out even more because she fears clowns.
• The Loud House: In "Coupe Dreams", when Lori ends up taking on more passengers to try and raise money to buy her dream car, she ends up giving a joint ride to Lucy and the Young Mortician's Club and Luan and her clown troupe. Boris ends up shaking in fear and admits to not liking clowns.
• Martha Speaks:
  • In "Martha Takes the Cake", it's implied that TD fears clowns when he says the robot clown is "scarier than a real clown".
  • In "Itchy Martha", this is implied with Jake, as he gets quite frightened when OG has Martha wear a clown mask.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: According to Discord in "The Big Mac Question", Fluttershy hates clowns. Additionally, in the IDW comics issue "The Return of Queen Chrysalis- Part 4", she finds a Monster Clown behind a door and she whimpers nervously before slamming the door.
• My Little Pony: Pony Life: In "Lolly-Pop", Fluttershy dresses as a clown at a carnival, which makes Applejack so nervous that she runs out of there. She admits to her friends that she has a fear of clowns, so the try to help her get over this. It pays off in the end and Applejack performs alongside Fluttershy.
• The Replacements: Dick Daring, daredevil-stuntman reveals in the episode "The Spy Who Was Riley", that he's been afraid of clowns since childhood. He managed to face his fear when he joins with Todd to distract Dr. Scorpius' two henchmen.
• Rugrats (1991):
  • One of Chuckie's many fears is clowns, as shown in "Give and Take" and "The Trial", in which he destroys, or is tempted to destroy, clown-shaped objects, and in "Clown Around", where he views becoming a clown as a terrifying fate.
  • Didi is shown to have a fear of clowns in "Reptar's Revenge" when a clown at a carnival honks his horn at her. She initially tries to deny it when Stu asks her about it. Weirdly enough, she doesn't appear to be scared of the clown at the beginning of "Circus Angelicus".
• Saving Me: In the first episode, when young Bennett Bramble is trying to swim away from the island in his Mental World that he and old Bennett Bramble are on, Bennett's fears start rising out of the water. Old Bennett mentions two of his fears are spiders and clowns, so he has a giant spider clown rise up out of the water.
• School for Vampires: Count von Horrificus' only fear is clowns.
• The Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word". Even though Bart enjoys and continues to be a fun of Krusty the Clown afterwards, spending the night in a poorly-built clown-shaped bed Homer constructed, Bart is seen curled up in a fetal position.
  Bart: Can't sleep, clown will eat me... Can't sleep, clown will eat me...
• SpongeBob SquarePants:
  • In "Goofy Scoopers", the members of an animatronic band are thrown out and made to get new jobs. One member, Clem Clam, moves to the circus. When SpongeBob and Patrick meet him there, he's very nervous about being surrounded by clowns, and quickly accepts rejoining the band.
  • In "Rodeo Daze", he summons everyone in Bikini Bottom to his house to save Sandy from a rodeo. The only reason he wants to save her is that there are clowns attending the rodeo.
• Tangled: The Series: In the "What Do They Fear?" Episode "Be Very Afraid", many characters' fears are shown. Lance is shown to be afraid of clowns, along with spiders and singing in public. His fears appear to him in the form of a giant spider with a clown head ordering him to sing.
• Teen Titans Go!: In "The Return of Slade", Starfire asks what clowns are, and when Robin shows her a photo of one, she utterly freaks out and becomes a trembling mess. Robin hires Honk the clown, which does not help her nerves in the slightest and she hides from him.
• Total DramaRama: In "He Who Wears the Clown", Harold is revealed to have a fear of clowns. When Chef reveals that Harold's father hired Floppo the clown to visit the daycare, Harold lets out a Big "NO!" and goes into a Troubled Fetal Position. He does not take it well when Owen magically turns into a clown, but he has to face this fear by taking Owen to Floppo so that Owen can go back to normal. After various failed attempts to turn Owen back into a human, Harold realizes that he no longer fears clowns since he feels bad for Owen.
• The Weekenders: The episode "Clown" centers on Tino's friends trying to help him tackle his overwhelming fear of clowns, which was brought on jointly due to Tito being scared by a jack-in-the-box, followed by a visit from his clown-like aunt.
• In What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode "A Terrifying Round with a Menacing Metallic Clown", Velma is too scared to solve the mystery because it involves a robot clown and she's afraid of clowns. However, unlike most examples, it's not because of the makeup — she's afraid of them because one shredded some of her books when she was a kid at her 5th birthday.
• Xiaolin Showdown: According to Hannibal Bean, Jack Spicer is afraid of clowns. This is one of the fears he thinks Jack must overcome if he wants to be truly evil.
• Zig & Sharko: "The Clownfish" from The Adventures of Bernie reveals that Bernie's feared clowns ever since a clownfish gave him a balloon animal that deflated. Naturally, this becomes a problem when he attempts to enter the circus in order to fire himself through a cannon to get back to the island. He decides to deal with it by laughing at the clownfish the way Zig did back when they were kids.

Other

• Cracked: Mentioned in the third entry on this article by a professional party planner; Kids these days prefer entertainers dressed as superheroes at their party, and dislike or are even downright afraid of clowns. Something parents frequently find out the hard way when they hire a clown.
• Kosuke Yabuki, a designer for the game ARMS was surprised when many westerners reacted with fear to a new clown skin for the character Lola Pop, and joked he "learned a weakness of Americans".

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