Send in the Clowns

painting by c. nelson kellar

Send in the Clowns

“I remain just one thing, & that is a clown--which places

me on a far higher plane than most politicians.”

--Charlie Chaplin.

Actually, we have co-existed

                                  with clowns

                                               for centuries,

dating back to the medieval courts of kings,

                                               where jesters

and fools were given permission

to be outrageous

to represent bawdiness

to pretend to violate sexual norms, even

to mock the gods

              roast the aristocracy, and then later

morph into the more malicious

trickster.

Extreme fear of clowns

is called Coulrophobia,

a term found on the internet since the 80’s

but not found in medical texts or dictionaries.

Many younger children have intense dislike or fear

of clowns, recognizing a familiar body

that sports an unfamiliar face, giving

no real clue what/who might be lurking

                 behind the make-up,

                 bulbous red nose

& electric pink or violent violet fright wig,

representing a frightening visage, a frightful person

whose intentions are unknowable.

Even in 12% of all adults, 

though most of them would deny it,

fear of clowns can induce panic attacks;

in isolated cases keep them out of

carnivals, circuses, horror theme parks,

& even prevent burger munching at

McDonalds.

Theories abound that too many stories,

                                         movies & events

featuring killer klowns (From Outer Space),

                                          like Pennywise

in Stephen Kings IT, or the sinister Joker

                                           in BATMAN

have intensified & exacerbated these fears.

Emmett Kelly became famous as Weary Willie, 

but his personal life was a shambles,

& his angry ex-wife claimed that 

Willie overtook Emmett’s personality.

Emmett Kelly Jr., after losing his leg

in a train accident, bizarrely decided

that he needed to become the reincarnation

of Weary Willie, began dressing as him,

began calling himself EK III;

falling into a life of degradation, drugs, and madness.

In 1978 he was arrested for the murders

of two of his homosexual partners,

& he claimed that Willie was an accomplice.

Between 1975-78, John Wayne Gacy,

an actual killer-klown,

sodomized & murdered

33 boys & young men in the Chicago area,

claiming that he selected his prey

while performing as a clown

at their birthday parties & events. 

Perhaps

clowns represent the side

of human nature not totally

accepted by society;

as the conflicting dichotomy

of evil clown vs. circus clown

continues.

They seem

                  to attract

                                or repel us

secondary to holding up a funhouse mirror

to our secret inner selves. 

                    

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets Poetics

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