The two characters represent classic images of humor and fun, but they upset the expectations of their appearances.Ī clown is supposed to bring joy, so when Pennywise rips off a child’s arm and drags him into the sewer, or when the Joker beats Batman’s sidekick to death with a crowbar, we are met with both the unspeakable horrors of the act and the bright appearance of the perpetrator, creating an unsettling cognitive dissonance in our heads.įurthermore, the characters’ outward appearances, though in-line with classic clown aesthetics, represent something deeper. The Joker looks like the playing card of the same name.

Pennywise looks like the average clown you might see at a child’s birthday party. With his bleached white face, red lips, big smile, green hair and purple suit, the Joker’s bright appearance provided a foil to Batman’s dark costume back then, and continues to do so today. The answer he came up with was clowns, and it would lead to the cosmic horror It, who descends upon the town of Derry to frighten and prey on its children, as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.Ĭomic writers and artists Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson created the Joker in 1940 to serve as a contrasting enemy for Batman. When Stephen King wrote the novel “It,” he asked himself what frightened children the most. Clowns scare, frighten, and generally creep out all sorts of people, both young and old. For centuries, clowns have provided humanity with fun, entertainment and laughs, all things that humans crave.īut today, clowns are known to evoke more fear and unease than joy. Clowns are staples at children’s birthday parties. Popular circuses often include clowns as performers.

Many kings of old had court jesters to serve as entertainment before the days of Netflix. The trickster is an important archetypal figure in all sorts of mythologies, including Greek, Norse and Native American.

In the past two months, you may have seen “It Chapter Two” or “Joker” in theaters, and if not, you’re probably already familiar with the evil clown characters in those stories.Ĭlowns and fools have been around forever.

Chalk-white skin, dyed hair, red nose, colorful outfit, maybe a knife in hand and some blood splatter. If you go to any haunted houses this year, you’re likely to run into an evil clown or two.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown free game