We're not sure at which point clowns transformed from being big shoe wearing likeable clumsy characters to knife wielding maniacs who scare children and adults alike.

There have been a huge amount of scary clowns spotted across the country in recent weeks.

The activities reported range from creepy characters frightening people in passing cars to more sinister incidents where people dressed as clowns have approached schoolchildren .

The rise of the phenomenon has been boosted in no small part by a Facebook page which shares photos and videos of the scary sightings, and the incidents continue to divide opinion across the country with some calling them harmless pranks while others have branded the incidents a menace.

But let's not forget where these 'hilarious' copycats are getting their inspiration from. Scary clowns have been featuring in films and TV shows for years. Here's our top ten list of the scariest killer clowns.

Stephen King’s It

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If there is a killer clown more scary than Pennywise, we haven't met him yet.

This creep used to hide out in sewers and sweet talk kids into following him down into the depths. Everything about him was menacing, from his sharp teeth to his eerie voice.

He says that inducing fear in his victims is like adding salt to meat.


It's not often you see black people die in horror films, mainly because they know better than to investigate screams and almost always never run into abandoned houses, graveyards or former insane asylums to hide from a killer.

But Killjoy is kind of like a 'ghetto horror' in which a demonic clown, called Killjoy, who is summoned to assist revenge plots proved too much for each character who calls him.

Short version is everybody dies and the clown is extremely terrifying to look at.


A loving dad finds a clown suit for his son’s birthday party. Normal.

Then he puts on the suit and entertains the kids at the birthday party for free, thus saving himself some cash on a real clown. Normal.

And then he realises that it's not a suit at all and he can't remove it because it's actually possessed by a demon from old world times. NOT NORMAL.

We've not seen this film, but our friend Nick says "It's paaaful [powerful]. Propa [proper] scary. Top boy." Nick is from Essex.

All Hallows’ Eve

Creepy doesn't even begin to describe this weird story that is centred around a clown called Art.

The basic premise is a woman is sat at home watching a tape, as in a VHS, yes, a VHS, on the night of Halloween, and witnesses some strange freaky happenings that are all linked to Art the clown.

When we say odd, think demons committing sexual assaults, aliens kidnapping people, and clowns that laugh without sound. WEIRD.

American Horror Story: Freak Show

The first episode of this TV series became the most watched episode on FX ever, proving that there are a lot of people out there interested in some pretty strange things.


Among the star studded cast and award winning performances John Carroll Lynch's Twisty the Clown was particularly unpleasant on the eyes.

The Legend of Wasco

We've all been there, dressed up as a legendary murderous clown that used to cause terror across our small town.

That's what future brothers-in-law Tyler and Byron did to bond, by dressing as the Wasco Clown and taking pictures that spread across the internet.

But what started out as fun turns deadly as the real Wasco Clown returns to kill the town's people. Nice one, lads. Nice one.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Killer Klowns From Outer Space - 1988

When a comet crashes outside a sleepy small town, some teenagers investigate and discover a pack of murderous aliens who look like circus clowns.

Obviously, nobody believes them and the clowns go round murdering lots of people, albeit in a rather camp manner.

The film itself is unintentionally funny, and we'd rather fight these aliens instead of say the ones from Independence Day, Predator or Alien.

But still, they're pretty scary!

Mr Jingles

A clown, called Mr Jingles, is wrongly imprisoned for a killing spree he didn't commit. (We hate it when that happens)

So after he's sent to prison and tortured to death he finally dies, but then comes back from the dead and starts killing people.

The tagline reads: "He's back, and he's got an axe, to grind."


What is it with clowns coming back from the dead to seek vengeance?

Stitches is exactly that, a clown that was killed while performing for a group of ungrateful kids. During 'a bit' he trips over and a knife falls in his eye, killing him.

But he comes back from the dead to hunt down all the kids from the party.


Amusement - 2008

If there's one thing we've learned from this top ten list, it's that clowns carry grudges.

Amusement features a real creepy clown that wants to murder three women who mocked and ridiculed him as a child (Who knew that clowns could be children?)

After a lot of bloodshed the girls do eventually kill the clown/killer... or do they?