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ode to creepy clowns
Creepy clowns come out of the shadows,
Licking our faces with razor sharp tongues,
Hide all the children, get them out of the way,
The clowns are out to get them,
as night turns from day
Suck on your toxic liquorish
Chew at your marshmallow brains
Yanking your hand to edge of the grave
As they kick you right into hell
Scaring you shitless, with a cackle of laughter
A machete in one hand and an axe in the other
With a shriek and a glaring expression
They mock you till you fall to the floor
Creepy clowns, I can’t stand them
These fuckers think their funny
Freaking you out is their only intention
They got weaned on horror films
And a pathetic need to grab attention.
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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https://twitter.com/Dreamheadz
Creepy clowns, they are at it again!
They are at it again…nowhere is exempt, the most recent attack a formal dinner at the hallowed ground of Cambridge University, a creepy clown equipped with a machete. Maybe this can be put down to university high jinx…
However…there has been a recent spate of people in the UK, dressing up as clowns, jumping out and trying freak people out. It has been dubbed “the creepy clown craze”. The craze is not only limited to the UK, needless to say creepy clowns have been terrorizing America, clowns in at least 10 different states being sighted, some yelling at people in cars on desolate country roads, and worse besides carrying machetes and knives. Even Stephen King has had to weigh in telling the US to ‘cool the clown hysteria’ after wave of sightings
Horror films, must take some responsibility for this phenomenon, as they are littered with sinister clowns, Pennywise from It, Mr Jingles, Chucky, the killer clowns from outer space to name but a few.
This increasingly prevalent phenomenon has been fueled significantly by a Facebook page which shares photos and videos of the scary sightings. There’s even a label we can use for fear of clowns “coulrophobia”
Of course the primary function of a clown is to make an audience laugh. If we go back to the Middle Ages we discover that of the clown didn’t serve this function, they would pay heavily, meaning they would find themselves mutilated, to make their own smiles permanent. Our normal perception of smiles is usually positive, but constant smiles are unnerving . Clowns date back long before the Middle Ages, according to Dr Richard Talbot “The first recorded description of a clown was of a pygmy-type figure in Ancient Egypt, around 2000 BC”. Historically Britain’s first modern clown was Joseph Grimaldi, who in his time had a massive following, and could be deemed a real star . In the early 1800s, he is accredited with inventing the trademark clown painted white face and red smile. The external image he projected was very different to what was going on in his own head, as he said himself “I am GRIM ALL DAY, but I make you laugh at night.”
Why is it that clowns are so unnerving? In the world we live in, the face is one of the first things we look at. We search constantly for clues, to help us have a sense of how the other person is feeling. With clowns, that’s impossible. As Doctor Talbot puts it “There’s a technical confusion. There’s a painted face which stays static but the facial muscles are still moving underneath, so our brains can’t quite make sense of it.” His idea mirrors an idea Sigmund Freud – the founder of psychoanalysis – called the “uncanny”. It’s when you look at something that’s recognizable but not quite right. And it makes you feel weird.
Clowns primary audience are supposed to be children. Maybe not so much these days but parents used to consider clowns for their children’s birthday parties. However do children like clowns a survey done in 2008, by University of Sheffield, England, discovered of 250 children interviewed between the ages of four and 16 found that most of the children disliked and even feared images of clowns. A child psychologist made the point , “Very few children like clowns. They are unfamiliar and come from a different era. They don’t look funny, they just look odd.”
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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Clowns: Our Fascination and Our Fear
Clowns: Our Fascination and Our Fear
By Tiffany Apan
Throughout the ages, many creatures have served as a fascination for our imaginations while terrifying us in the process. Vampires, werewolves, black-eyed children…and clowns. Yes, that seemingly innocuous person making balloon sculptures at many a children’s party. They simultaneously bring joy and terror.
Clowns are a morbid curiosity. They also have a long history, dating back to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. They have long been associated with the term, “rustic fool” and the concept of a circus clown didn’t even arrive until the 19th century. Until then, a clown was typically a “fool” character in theatrical productions. He was often lower class, dressed in a tattered servant’s attire, and often the comedic relief in an otherwise serious plot of a play. But if clowns were meant to bring humor and joy, how did they come to have such a sinister reputation?
There are many different theories, and an article on LiveScience.com suggest that perhaps this is partly due to that even as court jesters their comedy was often quite dark. There is also suggestion of long time association with being quite otherworldly. Some examples include how they seem to be able to cram themselves into a tiny car, twenty at a time before emerging seemingly unaffected by the cramped space. They perform acts of magic and are often unpredictable in their feats and actions. This can evoke strong emotions in different individuals, and sometimes, those emotions are negative ones. Perhaps it is these seemingly supernatural abilities and such unpredictability that gives reason for authors and filmmakers to feature the clown as a malevolent character, even a killer. Many individuals suffer from coulrophobia, or a clinically diagnosed fear of clowns. While this is not the average person, clowns tend to invoke feelings of disconcert among much of the population. Even Stephen King, author of the novel “IT” which features a demonic killer clown, is quoted as saying the clowns can be quite terrifying. According to the LiveScience article (along with a few interviews by King himself):
King admitted that seeing a clown outside of the character’s typical context, such as a circus or a birthday party, could be unnerving — yes, even for him.
“If I saw a clown lurking under a lonely bridge (or peering up at me from a sewer grate, with or without balloons), I’d be scared, too,” King said.
For me, clowns are mainly harmless. But I will also agree with King, in saying that if I saw some random clown standing somewhere in a field, under a bridge, or a street corner, I would be pretty unnerved myself.
For more of Tiffany’s work, check out her official website and blog:
http://tiffanyapanwritingproject.blogspot.com
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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A poem for Halloween
You sent me a poisoned cake for my birthday
laced with shards of glass,
the colour of black bile
when I swallowed it whole
you laughed
and you laughed
and you laughed
You danced like a jittery shadow
Spinning a pernicious web, you confined me
With needles and pins you jabbed me
Till midnight came around
Then all fell silent
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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Author Cheryllynn Dyess gives her thoughts on creepy clowns!
I asked authors concerning their feelings about the phenomenon of “creepy lowns”
Cheryllynn Dyess replied…
It’s not long at all… but this is my experience and where it all started .
Why clowns creep me out all begin with the movie Poltergeist in 1982! I was a whopping ten years old and my mother thought this would be a good movie to watch. Yeah, well not so much but it did start the life-long trend of not liking clowns.
I remember when we sat down and watched this movie. I remember the room we were in while watching the moving. I remember it being night because of course who would show this to their ten-year-old in the middle of the day, right? I even remember eating popcorn as it played and how my mother and her friend sat on the floor to get in closer.
That clown terrified me. I would never look at clowns the same way. While that has been 34 years ago, I still don’t handle clowns well. I am not terrified of them as I was in my childhood, but I do tend to give them their space and watch them ever so closely.
I have been to amusement parks where clowns try to be cheerful and I just stand back and shiver inside. Around 2008, I remember going to a theme park for Halloween and a scary clown came at me, I hit him. Poor clown was just doing his job.
About Cheryllyn
Cheryllynn’s vivid imagination comes through in all she does in life. Her writing started in junior high, although she never truly shared her work until recently. They were kept hidden away in an old tattered orange folder. Original works she wrote as early as 1984 still hold ink on the pages and are just now coming to life. Paranormal and Fantasy are her favorite genres with Mystery and Thrillers close behind.
Born in Northwest Florida and raised in Southeast Georgia she developed a love for nature and the outdoors. Her experiences outdoors allows her to create universes with vivid detail. After a detour of almost twenty years in the health care industry and obtaining her Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Administration/Healthcare Information Systems she has returned to her love of writing.
Currently living in Central Texas with her family, she has begun a new chapter in life that has opened her heart and soul to many great adventures. Her hobbies include fishing, crochet, gardening…and of course reading.
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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https://twitter.com/Dreamheadz
Born with special powers
Some people will have you believe babies born between midnight and 1 A. M. have the power to see ghosts. So does the seventh child of the seventh child. Further superstitions include A baby that is born feet first will have healing abilities. Firstborn children are protected from witchcraft.
What if you were born with special powers, that you could see things others couldn’t. Imagine if you could see the dead.
Take for example Sally Cudmore, a trainee nurse who claims when she working in a special care unit, she was able to predict when someone would die. With nature of her job she was accustomed to death, but what made her job unattainable was the fact that those who died came back. Sally traces her special talent to when she was eight years old, when she began to see the spirit of a young girl. Her gift lay dormant until she began her career as a nurse and she was able interact with those from the spirit world.
She had her own warning signs when somebody was about to die, as she puts it “I knew someone was going to die when I saw red and black surrounding them and it became really upsetting.”
She claims that she was able to pass on messages to grieving relatives from their love ones.
After a point she decided to make a change of career from nurse to medium.
Ever heard of Bulgaria-born Prophetess Baba Vanga, I came across her earlier in the year, her story is both fascinating as well as unnerving. She has been dubbed the “Nostradamus from the Balkans” and has an 85 per cent accuracy with her predictions. Some of her predictions include 9/11, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the Fukushima nuclear spill and the birth of ISIS. Scarily for me, (living in Europe) she predicts Europe as we know it will “cease to exist” by the end of 2016 following the systematic elimination of entire populations, leaving the continent “almost empty”, a “wasteland almost entirely devoid of any form of life”.
Up until the age of twelve she had led an ordinary life but following a massive storm she mysteriously lost her eyesight. She was missing for several days before being discovered, her eyes being covered with dirt and dust. It was during this time her great talent surfaced, that she could not only heal people but predict the future.
She even predicted Barack Obama’s election as president, saying the 44th president of the United States would be African American. Intriguingly she also stated that he would be the “last US president”. This does not look out of the question with Hillary and Donald, offering the world little hope as they spar for the presidency.
Her predictions go as far as 3797 when the world will finally die. However, human civilization will be advanced enough to move to a new star system. As to this prediction I feel she is being quite optimistic, the way things are going at the moment.
Part of a Halloween holiday blog hop, read other articles by writers and bloggers.
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The fear of being followed, alone late at night…
Ever had that terrible feeling that somebody is following you? Perhaps you have caught a late night train and while you are walking home, the streets are deserted. Suddenly you are aware of footsteps. You want to turn round to see who is behind you, but your growing anxiety prevents you from doing so. You increase your pace in the hope that you can lose this unknown person who you perceive to be following your trail. When you finally get home the relief is palpable.
In my book of short stories, Flight of Destiny, at the end of my story called “Cast from Hell” , there is a similar situation to the above scenario.
The train arrived late in the evening at the station nearest my parents’ house. It was dark and deserted, and I felt truly alone. I breathed a sigh of relief and began dragging my case down the dark road to my parents’ house. Wisps of fog slowly crept in, obscuring the stars, then the moon, and finally the local scenery. A few moments later, it began to drizzle.I heard a twig break behind me, followed by the repetitive click of heels on tarmac. I didn’t immediately panic, but I recall feeling increasingly uneasy. I picked up my pace, only to hear the sound of the footsteps behind getting closer rather than more distant. I turned abruptly to try a gain a cursory look at my stalker, but the combination of darkness, fog and drizzle, made it impossible to see anything more than a foot away. I turned and further upped my pace, but my effort was frustrated by having to drag the case. The dense fog parted momentarily and turned and caught a glimpse of a person not far behind me, the face shadowy and undefined. The fog immediately re-engulfed the elusivefigure. The person appeared to be wearing a hooded cloak and riding boots, which would account for the pronounced clicking noises that eerily reverberated along the road. The footsteps behind me slowed, crunched some slushy leaves, then resumed moving at a faster pace.My sense of dignity stopped me from calling out for help, but I nonetheless discarded my luggage and ran, hampered this time by the high heels I was wearing. I couldn’t shake off my pursuer, who, to my horror, was now almost within touching distance of me. I became aware of my pursuer’s labored breathing, and for a moment, I could swear I caught the briefest whiff of perfume. It even seemed familiar,but in my anxiety, I wasn’t able to place it. My body froze when a hand touched my shoulder, and I turned to face the grey specter in what seemed like slow motion.
Read some other great articles by authors and bloggers, Halloween Holiday blog hop
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Buy a copy of Flight of Destiny by Francis H Powell, 22 quirky short stories.
https://www.amazon.com/Flight-Destiny-Francis-H-Powell/dp/0988664097/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
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Y is for “you might not want to read this if you are a writer, musician or artist”
It is very hard being a writer, a musician, or artist…what are the rewards? Unless you make some dramatic breakthrough, you are stuck in some kind of limbo…among many others just like you.
A writer’s objective is to be published…you send your precious manuscript, you have slaved over, perfecting each chapter, each sentence, each word, far and wide. Rejection letters arrive on your doorstep, unwanted like a bout of flue, each one like a stab in the heart, each one drains away your self belief in your work.
At last a window opens, a small publisher says they would like to publish your precious manuscript…but this is only the start of it…If you are published but nobody is paying any attention to your book what then? There’s depressing reading seeing your Amazon ranking…Favorable book reviews give you a lift, but to get genuine readers to give a review is hard going.
Being a musician to be heard you don’t necessarily have to have a record contract, you can post your songs on soundcloud or similar sites. You can do gigs, but then only a handful of enthusiastic friends show up…but will they come to your next gig, friend’s loyalty can go far, but even this has limits. All those hit songs, you thought you had written, you are confined to anonymity.
As a painter, you love painting, it is almost a necessity for you, but when your paintings are finished, what to do with them? You need to find a gallery owner who is interested in your type of work. You can post images of your work on facebook, start a website with your work., but your work gets put in the back of a cupboard, soon to be unseen and forgotten, a film of dust gathering, as they fester.
Whatever form of creativity you are into, unless you are blessed with good fortune, are miraculously discovered, your lack of recognition will remain a constant thorn in your side
Francis H Powell is a writer. His recently published book is Flight of Destiny, a book of 22 short stories.
http://theflightofdestiny.yolasite.com/
This article is part of a blogging challenge,
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/p/sign-ups-for-2016-to-z-blogging.html
Francis H Powell author 