Monster Clowns

"Why do you people always question? Why ask why, when "how" is so much more fun?"

- The Violator's famous catchphrase.

Monster Clowns are a very popular villain type and are basically extreme examples of the equally popular "Evil Clown" archetype - however not all Evil Clowns are Monster Clowns, it takes a particularly disturbing and evil clown to become a Monster Clown.

For example an Evil Clown that is played for laughs or who is totally inept can not truly be considered a Monster Clown, a Monster Clown should always be disturbing and dangerous - often to the viewer as well as those within their setting.

Almost all Monster Clowns are chaotic-evil in regards to alignment and some may even be aliens, demons or Lovecraftian Horrors who deliberately choose the form of clowns to inspire fear (or alternatively trust) in mortals.

Monster Clowns are not the same as Enemy Mimes - which is basically the Mime equivalent (though evil mimes do not have to have the disturbing qualities of Monster Clowns, often Enemy Mimes are played for laughs).

Monster Clowns can sometimes be found in a Circus of Fear setting - though a related archetype known as a Mascot From Hell may take their place.

Notable Monster Clowns in fiction
For more monster clowns see: The List of Evil Clowns


 * The Joker - Although sometimes played for laughs most depictions of the Joker are monstrous, in-keeping with his psychopathic nature.
 * Pennywise - A strong contender for embodying this archetype, from the Stephen King novel, strikes terror into your very core that an evil clown is simply meant to do to adults, teenagers, and kids alike.
 * Ronald McDonald (meme adaptations) - Most parodies of Ronald show him as a monster rather than for laughs.
 * Kefka Palazzo - Although originally played for laughs Kefka becomes more and more brutal as the game progresses.
 * Captain Spaulding - ... Seriously.. just watch the movie House of 1000 Corpses.
 * Horny the Clown - Again, the name pretty much says it all.
 * Killer Klowns - The whole concept of this movie was that modern clowns are actually memories of encounters with a monstrous alien race.
 * Clown Doll - Although Poltergeist was a "ghost" film this toy is widely regarded as one of the movie's most iconic monsters.
 * A parody of this clown appears in the spoof movie Scary Movie 2, where it ended up getting raped.
 * Sweet Tooth - Insane Psycho clown Killer from the Twisted Metal video game series.
 * Jack the Clown - The first icon for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights.
 * Clowny, also known w:c:villains AZViolator. The demon's human form. A jester who plays the joke on humans and especially young hellspawn whom he views as inferior.
 * Madkat, a spirit of a mad jester possessing an equally mad stand-up comedian in Swat Kats.
 * Dimentio - Like Kefka, starts out being played for laughs, although as the game progresses he becomes significantly more brutal and disturbing.
 * Krusty the Clown, the shameless, egomaniac TV-clown from the Simpsons. Always looking to making the next buck, lamenting wasting his life and forgetting his multi-time saviors Bart & Lisa Simpsons due to various problems. According to several episodes, he does not wear make-up.
 * White, the one shot villain from the Fatal Fury game Real Bout: Dominated Mind, loosely influenced on The Joker and based on Alexander DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange
 * A clown is also seen as one of the monsters kept by the Facility in the horror movie The Cabin in the Woods.
 * Twisty from American Horror Story: Freak Show.
 * Onimi - Like Kefka Palazzo, he initially appears to be not much of a threat, but was later revealed to be the true leader of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion as well as plotting to commit genocide on a galactic scale.
 * Frowny