IT- Stephan King

I wanted to find out if clowns were seen as terrifying creatures in the past as they are today. After carrying out my research I found out that clowns were not always monsters in disguise and Stephan King was the first person to show the world a clown as a monster. After this point onward many horror films have portrayed clowns as evil creatures who hide their real identity behind a smile. For example relating this back to my chosen tv series American horror story the freak show this is seen in the form of twisty the clown.

Stephen King first wrote and published the book IT in the year 1987. This book is about a deranged clown who feeds off the fears of its victims. In the novel pennywise the clown is seen exploiting children as they are easier prey. This is because children think that clowns are friendly and its monsters that eat children and not clowns. After the novel a movie by the same name IT, was then released in the year 1990. It had the same story line of the novel.

The clown pennywise is portrayed in a very gruesome way as it hunts for its prey that are normally children. This is because they are considered to be easier prey. Stephan King was the first person and author who portrayed clowns in a horrifying image, as until this tie clowns were seen as happy go colourful people that made children laugh. A question can be raised from this and that is, "Could this be the reason why we are terrified of clowns today?" I came across the video's below, that show interviews of Stephan king himself in which he explains why he himself is afraid of clowns and why he came up with the idea of portraying clowns as a freak. 

In the videos below Stephen King describes a clown that he saw as a child. During his childhood clowns had dead white faces and mouths were red as if they were filled with blood. King in the interview stated, that what scares children the most in a circus, the answer is clowns. Thinking about this myself, clowns are seen as terrifying creatures not only to children but also adults. This is because of how clowns are shown as monsters in disguise in the world of horror.

Relating this back to Mrs Laderman, I want to portray her as a monster in disguise as, in the freak show she will play the role of twisty the clown, who is the original clown of the tv series. This is because as stated in my character profiles Mrs Laderman is the clown character that hides her true colours from Claudia and always watches her from her third eye as she is also a freak of the circus. Looking at clowns as a scary figure has become a trend today as this is commonly seen all the time in fantasy and horror novels and films. However, it can be argued that why are clowns shown in this image while they are meant to child friendly figures.









Ref:
King S, 1987. IT. Hodder and Stoughton, London
Stephen King. IT, 1990 [digital video]