Clowns
If you have coulorphobia or a fear of clowns, Pennywise the Clown from the movie, “It” is how you see most clowns. Clowns; meant to be happy, fun and lighthearted; turn into creatures of demonic proportions if you have a fear of them. So why include them on a site dedicated to revenants? Look past the clumsy, bumbling fool and to the actual features of the clown and you will see why.
White face - This is reminiscent of a corpse. The white face is perhaps an extreme, but it is still similar to the pale skin of the corpse, vampire, ghoul, ghost or any other revenant. (Australian Museum)
Red, garish, oversized mouth - The bright red on the mouth looks like blood. Then the mouth is often oversized (not so in Pennywise’s case), giving it the same predatory appearance as a wolf or other hungry carnivore.
Large nose and frizzled hair - As a body decays, certain features are exaggerated. As skin dries, hair and nails seems to grow. The natural oils in the hair evaporate, giving it a frizzled appearance. As the skin becomes tighter, the nose may seem to become enlarged as the cartilage becomes more prominent. Much like the frizzled hair and large nose of the clown. (Australian Museum)
Enlarged hands and feet and swollen abdomen - Fluids may pool in certain areas of the body such as extremities like hands and feet or the abdomen. This may make them look enlarged or swollen such as often seen on the clown. (Australian Museum)
Darkened eye sockets - The eyes on a corpse begin to sink into the head and the skin around the sockets can take on a darkened look. The clown mimics this and darkens the eye sockets or makes a black pattern around the eyes. (Australian Museum)
Clumsy, disjointed movements - Revenants from many cultures are seen as having clumsy, disjointed movements. This is believed to be caused from having been
dead for a period and the nerves being damaged from that death.
It is not surprising that the clown frightens so many. While some are able to laugh at the disjointed antics, others look and see a revenant archetype. Perhaps the clown is so frightening because it can be so innocuous on the surface but hide a sinister core.
White face - This is reminiscent of a corpse. The white face is perhaps an extreme, but it is still similar to the pale skin of the corpse, vampire, ghoul, ghost or any other revenant. (Australian Museum)
Red, garish, oversized mouth - The bright red on the mouth looks like blood. Then the mouth is often oversized (not so in Pennywise’s case), giving it the same predatory appearance as a wolf or other hungry carnivore.
Large nose and frizzled hair - As a body decays, certain features are exaggerated. As skin dries, hair and nails seems to grow. The natural oils in the hair evaporate, giving it a frizzled appearance. As the skin becomes tighter, the nose may seem to become enlarged as the cartilage becomes more prominent. Much like the frizzled hair and large nose of the clown. (Australian Museum)
Enlarged hands and feet and swollen abdomen - Fluids may pool in certain areas of the body such as extremities like hands and feet or the abdomen. This may make them look enlarged or swollen such as often seen on the clown. (Australian Museum)
Darkened eye sockets - The eyes on a corpse begin to sink into the head and the skin around the sockets can take on a darkened look. The clown mimics this and darkens the eye sockets or makes a black pattern around the eyes. (Australian Museum)
Clumsy, disjointed movements - Revenants from many cultures are seen as having clumsy, disjointed movements. This is believed to be caused from having been
dead for a period and the nerves being damaged from that death.
It is not surprising that the clown frightens so many. While some are able to laugh at the disjointed antics, others look and see a revenant archetype. Perhaps the clown is so frightening because it can be so innocuous on the surface but hide a sinister core.