Why does it seem that people find the once loved circus clown so scary?
‘Coulrophobia’ is a term which has been coming to light more and more frequently especially over the past few years when t
he subject of clowns and clown imagery arises.
One might suspect that popular culture is to blame. In ‘It’, made into a television movie in 1990, Stephen King created a child-murdering monster that appeared as a demonic clown.
King’s ‘It’ has sparked a slew of schlocky movies over the past 20 years, known 
as the killer clown or evil clown genre.
Examples include Clownhouse from 1990 where three boys at home alone are menaced by escaped mental patients who have taken on the identities of clowns they have killed; Mr Jingles from 2006, where a killer clown takes its revenge; and 2004’s In Fear of Clowns, in which an artist with coulrophobia is stalked by a clown resembling 
one of her paintings.
S.I.C.K., Killjoy and the Camp Blood Trilogy are other low-budget examples of the genre. But perhaps the highlight is 2001’s Killer Klowns from Outer Space, with the tagline "In Space No One Can Eat Ice Cream".
British horror writer Ramsey Campbell says the recurring theme in popular culture of the scary clown goes back at least as far as silent movie star Lon Chaney Sr, who identified the spooky potential when he reportedly said: "There is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight.
Popularity: 28% [?]