Are the creepy clown stories pouring in from across the nation keeping you up at night? Then count yourself among the 42 percent of Americans who report having coulrophobia — that is, a fear of clowns.
Americans are actually more afraid of clowns than even death itself, a Vox/Morning Consult poll revealed Friday. Clowns were also recorded as being more terrifying than climate change, needles, or terrorist attacks. Even ghosts have nothing on clowns, and ghosts can move through walls and can't be killed, so that's saying something.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How often should you check your credit report?The explainer Contrary to what you might expect, your credit report does not contain your credit score. But it does offer a lot of other valuable information.
-
Sick 9/11 responders are being left behind amid federal spending battleThe Explainer Services have been cut and restored following outcry, but staffing issues remain
-
TV to watch in May, including 'The Four Seasons' and 'Duster'The Week Recommends A comedy from Tina Fey, a '70s crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and an adaptation from the pages of Judy Blume
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
