 With the creepy clown epidemic sweeping the nation most of us are worried You might be wondering why are we so afraid of them? And is there a psychological explanation for our fear of clowns? Let's talk about it today on psych to go Hey, what's up internet? I'm Austin Castro So I think it's safe to say that this whole creepy clown hysteria is pretty freaky Is this a harmless trend or a genuine threat? Well first off if you're unfamiliar with it Here's a little bit of background it all goes back to august 2016 when a report surfaced that clowns were seen in South Carolina And allegedly tried to lure children into the woods since then there have been several other clown sightings in over two dozen different states Sightings like these have continuously been surfacing and have been keeping people on edge Thankfully most of these clown threats are non credible and unsubstantiated But there have been a few serious incidents a teenager in New York claims someone in a clown suit brandished a knife at him While chasing him out of a subway station in response schools and police departments are remaining very vigilant in making sure this epidemic doesn't escalate any further So now that you know a little bit about what's going on. Are you feeling afraid yet? I know when I first heard about it. I was pretty terrified Maybe you've already had a fear of clowns and this hysteria only made it worse Well, there may be a psychological explanation for why you're afraid of clowns According to Romney Nader a psychologist and director at the North Shore stress and anxiety clinic in Vancouver We just don't trust them. He says they have these large artificial painted-on expressions Which you know don't actually represent how that clown is feeling because nobody can be happy all the time And yet the clown has a big happy smiling face all the time in essence You sort of know it's lying to you in terms of presentation another reason for this is people are simply afraid of clown mannerisms Frank McAndrew a professor of psychology at Knox College says that people are afraid of clowns because they are so mischievous and Unpredictable and unlike vampires and ghosts they really exist and could possibly cause trouble for you Of course typical clown behaviors such as squirting water and throwing pies can also make people feel uncomfortable and only add to that fear The informal term many people use to describe the fear of clowns is cool Let's not forget that pop culture and the way clowns are portrayed fuel that fear as well Stephen King's it features a clown that exploits the fears and phobias of the children that it's terrorizing not too long ago I personally went to a Halloween haunted house for the first time and let me tell you they really hyped up the clown and Circus section. I'll never forget when this clown came right up to my ear and straight up whispered Do you have a minute to talk about our Lord and Savior Ronald McDonald? Speaking of which this whole clown hysteria has become so widespread that even McDonald's put Ronald McDonald into hiding So now you know that if you might be afraid of these clowns and have a bit of cool erophobia You're not alone. Of course, there are so many different ways to explain this fear But hopefully this was able to touch on a few reasons for why this fear exists As always if you want to see more videos from me You can head over to my main channel by going to youtube.com slash Austin Castro one for a psych to go I'm Austin Castro. Thank you for watching stay safe out there, and I'll see you guys on the internet