THE NAKED CITY – TEARS OF A CLOWN

The tradition of clowns goes right back to the buffoon-like characters of early Roman and Greek theatre and over the years it has evolved in many different ways. We are perhaps most familiar with the image of  the classic circus clown, however in recent months a disturbing phenomenon has appeared – the malevolent and fear evoking ‘creepy clown’.

Sightings of these largely nocturnal creatures have been made all over the world, more recently in Sydney, where vigilante groups have formed to combat their evil leering. The ramifications are enormous. Already McDonalds have indicated they will be withdrawing the Ronald McDonald character in the US, putting him on ice until the last of the creepy clowns is eradicated. Psychologists have reported a massive increase in the number of patients suffering coulrophobia (the fear of ‘clowns’), and clown like children’s entertainers are no longer welcome at birthday parties and other kiddies’ celebrations. It’s only a matter of time before Premier Mike Baird passes the ‘Creepy Clown Act’, outlawing them altogether.

The modern day creepy clown is really nothing new, and evil clowns (as opposed to the wholesome variety) have been with us for hundreds of years, villainised in movies like Killer Klowns from Outer Space and personified in the gaudy paintings of notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy (aka “The Killer Clown”) who often appeared at children’s parties dressed as Pogo The Clown.

Here in Australia, clowns have not been without their share of controversy. Melbourne’s Zig and Zag (not be confused with the modern day puppets) were an integral part of the early days of children’s television in this country and often featured on the annual Moomba parade. In 1999, after many years of TV exposure, they were named as joint Moomba Monarchs, but were quickly stood down after Today Tonight exposed a child molestation charge involving Zig (aka Jack Perry) back in 1994.

During the week The Naked City spoke with Mt Druitt couple Peggy and Ron (not their real names) who have been dressing as creepy clowns for a number of years – frequenting everywhere from graveyards, to swingers parties and ‘trash and treasure’ markets. “It all began with our mutual love of American hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse,” Ron explained. In 2013, the couple travelled to Tonopah in Nevada where they were married at the world famous Clown Motel by a midget clown celebrant and part-time Elvis impersonator. “Ron was dressed as Pennywise from Stephen King’s It, and I had all the gear from Killjoy Goes To Hell,” Peggy enthused.

Whilst they were once physically threatened by angry vigilantes outside the Rooty Hill RSL, Ron and Peggy have not been intimidated and plan regular creepy clown appearances right across the metropolitan area. They are more than keen to make contact with a NSW country town, happy to host a Creepy Clown get together, similar to the annual Elvis convention in Parkes. “Imagine a whole train full of creepy clowns heading out from Central,” Ron gleefully suggested, freaking out commuters and descending on some tiny country town. Hmmm, sounds like another evil clown movie to me!

Whether the current creepy clown craze will survive its initial burst of viral, web-driven notoriety or cement itself in the fabric of modern cultural tradition, remains to be seen. If it means we’ll see no more of the creepiest clown of them all, Ronald McDonald, then long may it survive. Send in those clowns!