Bad Clowns

By Benjamin Radford
Published by UNM Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Bad clowns—those malicious misfits of the midway who terrorize, haunt, and threaten us—have long been a cultural icon. This book describes the history of bad clowns, why clowns go bad, and why many people fear them. Going beyond familiar clowns such as the Joker, Krusty, John Wayne Gacy, and Stephen King’s Pennywise, it also features bizarre, lesser-known stories of weird clown antics including Bozo obscenity, Ronald McDonald haters, killer clowns, phantom-clown abductors, evil-clown panics, sex clowns, carnival clowns, troll clowns, and much more. Bad Clowns blends humor, investigation, and scholarship to reveal what is behind the clown’s dark smile.

About The Author

Benjamin Radford

Benjamin Radford is an award-winning author of over a dozen books including Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters in the Land of Enchantment and Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore (both from UNM Press) as well as Investigating Ghosts: The Scientific Search for Spirits. He is a folklorist, filmmaker, and a longtime editor of Skeptical Inquirer science magazine. He lives in Corrales, New Mexico.

Product Details

  • Publisher: UNM Press (April 1, 2016)
  • Length: 200 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780826356673

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Raves and Reviews

Radford isn't clowning around: [Bad Clowns] is heavily researched and well-footnoted and he takes readers from the first known clowns in ancient Greece through serial killer Mr. Punch of Punch and Judy right up to the legions of fans of Insane Clown Posse.--Mirage Magazine

Clowns with sinister sides and malevolent motives come under critical scrutiny in this pithy, abundantly illustrated study of the 'bad clown' as a pop culture phenomenon.
--Publishers Weekly

Clowns with sinister sides and malevolent motives come under critical scrutiny in this pithy, abundantly illustrated study of the 'bad clown' as a pop culture phenomenon.
--Publishers Weekly

Bad Clowns is no joke. . . . Radford . . . tackles the topic of coulrophobia, evil clowns, criminal clowns, killer clowns, and nasty clowns in this insightful book.--Twilight Language

Radford's research is varied and extensive.--Times Literary Supplement

Do you fear clowns? As this book shows, you're not alone, and such fear is not completely irrational. Benjamin Radford reviews an amazing array of bad clowns in media from comic books to pornography. He discovers the reasons behind their evil ways, and he analyzes clown aversion. It's rough stuff, but it is given a skeptical, scholarly, and engaging treatment.
--Jan Harold Brunvand, author of Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid: The Book of Scary Urban Legends

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Bad Clowns

By Benjamin Radford
Published by UNM Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
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