and the clowns have it.

I have always wondered, why clowns frighten me so much? My reaction on seeing one is simply this, to quietly exit whatever building I may be in that moment in a orderly fashion, drawing as little attention to myself as possible. Now that is not my true reaction, because in all honesty I would prefer to sprint from the building, screaming as thought I were on fire. Yes, it could be said once again, I do not like clowns.

So, today I have decided to sit down and try to find the reasoning behind my fear. The following is what I learned.

"Come out and play!"  by James Lipp

Coulrophobia (pronounced kool-roh-FOH-bee-uh) is an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. It is not uncommon among children, but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults as well. Sufferers sometimes acquire a fear of clowns after having a bad experience with one personally, or seeing a sinister portrayal of one in the media. Some of the symptoms one may experience include;

    •    Breathlessness
    •    Nausea
    •    Dry mouth
    •    Heart palpitations
    •    Inability to speak or think clearly
    •    Trembling
    •    Intense fear
    •    Overwhelming desire to flee
    •    Extreme measures taken to avoid clowns
    •    Sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack

After all I read today, I found this theory by far the most interesting of all.

Clowns have permanent, exaggerated expressions painted on their faces, usually of joy but not always, it renders the observer impotent in measuring facial expression as a precursor of action and for those who are vigilant about their environment, possibly because of past traumatic events, they are unable to interpret and therefore predict what this creature may do to them. This is heightened when we observe the "happy" clown performing some aggressive behavior.

I swear the next time I see a clown I am going to...

You know I had to say one more thing. The experts recommend all forms or treatment for this phobia but nowhere did I see them mention choking a clown with his own jolly & button like nose...