If you’ve been keeping up with Celebrity Psychings over the past few days, you know I’ve been on a bit of a Harry Potter kick.
Specifically, I’ve launched into a series about the kinds of life lessons Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince can teach viewers (and readers) of all ages.
(If you need to catch up, check out Lesson #1: Laugh!, Lesson #2: Avoid Unhealthy Relationships, and Lesson #3: Pursue Your Dreams.)
In keeping with the Harry Potter theme we’ve had here at Celebrity Psychings, I thought I’d pass along this little tidbit, courtesy of omg! News on Yahoo!
Daniel Radcliffe, a.k.a. Harry Potter, a.k.a. The Boy Who Lived, a.k.a. The Chosen One, apparently has a clown phobia:
Daniel Radcliffe: Afraid of Clowns
You’d think a guy who’s gone head-to-head with Dementors and He Who Shall Not Be Named wouldn’t be afraid of anything anymore. But Daniel Radcliffe, who plays the world’s most powerful wizard, has a fear of clowns.
Of course, Radcliffe seems to be in good company. Yahoo! goes on to say “he’s not the only famous coulrophobic star: Johnny Depp and P. Diddy dread the circus entertainers, too.”
I’ve always been somewhat amused by the fear of clowns; not in a mean way, mind you (I realize phobias can be quite debilitating and wreak serious havoc on a person’s normal day-to-day activities), but more in a curious way. Clowns are supposed to bring joy and happiness and humor to people, so when I hear about folks who are afraid of them, I can’t help but take note of the irony.
I did some light research related to coulrophobia (and I do mean light – there seems to be very little good, solid information about it online), and found that people who develop fears of clowns seem to do so for the same reasons people develop fears of anything else, such as having bad experiences with them, making negative associations, etc.
I can see that. I can understand little kids getting freaked out by funny-looking adults with faces covered it paint and carrying that fear into adulthood. I can even see adults developing couldrophobia thanks to all the paint that creates the weird, unchanging “happy” expressions on clowns’ faces and hides what’s really back there…
Too, these are definitely the kinds of reasons I think brought on my phobia of spiders and flying and planes in general (the bad experiences and negative associations), but I don’t know that they really explain my phobias of large machinery and of pretty much anything related to plumbing (those last two of which I’m sure manage to cock a few eyebrows, too 
).
If you want to learn more about phobias in general, including panic attacks, check out the following Psych Central pages:
My phobias of spiders and flying are pretty common; the large machinery and plumbing, not so much. Do you have any phobias others might find odd? How have they affected your life? Have you tried to overcome them, or, what do you do to avoid the objects of your phobias altogether?
Related Posts
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
From Psych Central's Social Media Stream:
PsychCentral (July 19, 2009)
Nicole Jensen (July 19, 2009)
Have been working on a PBS show re: sex offender rehabilitation & a shockingly high percentage got access to kids by being party clowns. (twitter: @whenmedicine).
@ Katie – Thanks for chiming in! That’s very sad. I’m assuming, as far as the clown situation is concerned, that part of the show is going to deal mostly with the ways in which adults manipulate situations to gain access to children (of course, I could be wrong – correct me if I am!), but during the time you’ve worked on it have you been exposed to any research that suggests these children end up developing phobias of clowns due to this? (And, on that note, phobias of anything else that might’ve been related to how the offenders gained access?)
@ Katie. If those pictures of John Wayne Gacy in a clown outfit aren’t enough to make you terrified of clowns, then nothing is.
My husband HATES clowns. He isn’t afraid of them, he just does not like them. I don’t like them much either, but I sure would watch them eagle-eyed around kids, especially now that I read the above.
I have a fear of knives and a fear of large and fast moving things.Are these odd?
I have a fear of playing ball sports like soccer/football. I don’t like getting hit in the head with a ball that has been kicked halfway across the field. It hurts.
I’m not sure a fear of clowns always translates into “phobia.” Clowns cover their face with makeup, and often their bodies with loose-fitting, ruffled clothing, oversized adornments such as ties, etc. It is therefore difficult to read their body language and facial expressions. They convey only what they want you to see, wearing an unchanging expression of a grotesque caricature of happiness or sadness, which can be unsettling. No, I am not a fan of clowns.
I have a fear of Cotton Wool…I have no idea why. But the thought of it makes me shake.
A couple of my friends have a phobia of clowns and another a fear of bubbles!
why dan is afraid of clowns?they wont say anything to people.
dan why u r afraid of these funny creatures?it makes me laugh when ever i think that my idol{dan}is afraid of clowns.they make people laugh not afraid.
I’m not afraid of all clowns. Just Pennywise (IT)
Last reviewed: 18 Jul 2009
Copyright © 1992-2010 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 21 Mar 2010
|
