Pennywise, Twisty, Wrinkles, Bozo, Krusty and Ronald McDonald. What do these names have in common? They're all clowns, and, to some people, they're terrifying. A new study has examined the widespread ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. (Washington Post illustration; iStock) For 15 years, psychology professor Philip John Tyson has been teaching classes on phobias.

Featuring Art the Clown as the main villain, Damien Leone’s new film “Terrifier 2” is so gruesome that there are reports of viewers vomiting and passing out in the theater. And every Halloween, you’ll ...

Clowns are supposed to make people laugh, entertaining audiences with slapstick comedy, juggling or making balloon animals. But somewhere along the way, clowns went from cheery characters — often the ...

The circus is coming! So this would be a good time for clown haters to re-examine their attitudes toward clowns. Or if you're afraid of clowns, there's good news. "Coulrophobia" is very treatable. And ...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kids don’t like clowns. The story exploded out of England recently: A survey conducted by the University of Sheffield polled 250 children, ages 4 to 16, and concluded that hospitals ...

No one I've checked with knows the origin of the word coulrophobia, the term for maladaptive fear of clowns. I've searched many sources, checked with various professionals, and asked a Twitter army of ...