REFERENCES AND WORKS CITED
Listed alphabetically, by tab of first appearance. If a work has been cited twice or more throughout the site, it will be on here only once.
INTRO
Grove, Laurence. "The history of clowns in comics." Pacific Coast Philogy, vol. 56, no. 2, 2021, p. 259, https://doi.org/10.2307/48746054.
Holcomb, Melanie. "The Paradox of the Fool." The Metropolitan Museum of Art,, 3 Mar. 2023, www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/jester.
Semenova, E.A. "The theories of humor in the study of the clown figure". Art & Culture Studies, no. 1, Mar. 2023, pp. 30-67, https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2023-1-30-67.
CHILDREN
David Carlyon. "American Clowns: Performance, History, and Cliche." Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Copernico, 8 May 2017, festival.si.edu/blog/american-clowns-performance-history-and-cliche.
"The Evolution of Television." Intro to Mass Media. Whatcom Community College, WCC Library, https://textbooks.whatcom.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/9-1-the-evolution-of-television/
"The Bozo Show (TV Series 1982-1994)." IMDB, www.imdb.com/title/tt0254009/.
"Ronald McDonald." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Mar. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McDonald.
Schierbaum, Kristina, et al. "Children and Childhoods." History and Cultural Heritage in Eastern Europe, Copernico, 4 Feb. 2026, doi.org/10.25355/yz22-av15.
Schowalter, John E. "A History of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the United States." Psychiatric Times , vol. 20, no. 9, 1 Sept. 2003, https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/history-child-and-adolescent-psychiatry-united-states.
CARE CLOWNS
Baxter, K. "Caring Clowning Code of Ethic". World Clown Association. 17 Dec. 2019. https://worldclown.com/blog/2019/12/17/caring-clowning-code-of-ethics/
"Clown Care." Children's National Hospital, www.childrensnational.org/plan-your-visit/inpatient-and-hospital-stays/patient-services-and-hospital-amenities/family-support-services/clown-care.
Spitzer, Peter. "Essay: Hospital clowns- modern-day court jesters at work." The Lancet, vol. 368, Dec. 2006, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(06)69919-4.
Stephson, Amy J. "Benefits of Medical Clowning: A Summary of the Research.", Room Circus Medical Clowning, Feb. 2017, www.qualityhealth.org/wpsc/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2018/02/Benefits-Medical-Clowning-White-Paper-2017-Final.pdf.
"What We Do." Medical Clown Project, www.medicalclownproject.org/what-we-do.
Xin, Guo, et al. "Application of clown care in hospitalized children: A scoping review." PLOS ONE, vol. 19, no. 12, 19 Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313841.
FEAR
Anastaplo, George. "Censorship." Britannica, 26 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/censorship.
Elliott, Will. "The Pilo Family Circus." Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/4748221-the-pilo-family-circus.
"Family Abduction." Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, childsafety.losangelescriminallawyer.pro/family-abduction.html.
Jenkins, John Philip. "John Wayne Gacy | Biography." Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026, www.britannica.com/biography/John-Wayne-Gacy.
King, Stephen. "IT." Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/830502.It.
Ligotti, Thomas. "The Last Feast of Harlequin." Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/25538803-the-last-feast-of-harlequin.
Little, Becky. "The Chilling History of Creepy Clowns." History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Oct. 2025, www.history.com/articles/clown-history.
Noonan, Daniel. "The Circus You Never Knew." HUMANITIES, vol. 32. Sept. 2011, https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/septemberoctober/statement/the-circus-you-never-knew
Planting, Talia, et al. "Coulrophobia: An investigation of clinical features." South African Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 28, 19 Jan. 2022, https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1653.
Poole, Steven. "The Great Clown Panic of 2016: A Volatile Mix of Fear and Contagion." The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 31 Oct. 2016, www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/31/the-great-clown-panic-of-2016-a-volatile-mix-of-fear-and-contagion.
Rosenfeld, Jordana. "Hays Code." Britannica, 23 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/art/Hays-Code.
Scott, Ryan. "The Terrifier Movies Have Made More than $100 Million at the Box Office." Fangoria, 27 Nov. 2024, www.fangoria.com/terrifier-movies-box-office-total/.
Stine, R.L. "A Nightmare on Clown Street." Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/22749536-a-nightmare-on-clown-street.
Steiner, Madeline. "The Creepy Clown Originated in the Crass and Bawdy Circus Clowns of the 19th Century." University of South Carolina, 25 Oct. 2022, sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2022/10/conversation_clowns.php.
"The Clown: Curtain Call: Chapter 8." Dead by Daylight, BHVR, deadbydaylight.com/game/characters/the-clown/.
Tyson, Philip John, et al. "Fear of clowns: An investigation into the aetiology of coulrophobia." Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 14, 2 Feb. 2023, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1109466.
Viator, Felicia Angeja. "A Brief History of Creepy Clowns." TIME, 30 Oct. 2025, time.com/7329751/creepy-clown-history-halloween/.
EXPLOITATION
"African Americans & the Circus." National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/african-americans-circus.
Bogdan, Robert. Freak Show : Presenting Human Oddities for Amusement and Profit. University Of Chicago Press, 1990.
Comer, Jim. "Rite, Reversal, and the End of Blackface Minstrelsy." Every Time I Turn Around, Jim Crow Museum, jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/links/essays/comer.htm.
Hampton, Jada. "George and Willie Muse." Uncle Junior Project, 2025, www.unclejrproject.com/muse-brothers.
Joseph, Christian. "Blackness Under the Big Top: Racism and the Circus of the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries." 2025. Fordham University. https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=honorsprogram_fcrh_theses
FUTURE
"Experience a Big Top Extravaganza - Accessible to All | New Victory Theater." New Victory Theater, 18 Apr. 2024, www.newvictory.org/stories/impossible-inclusivity-in-circus-performing/.
"Home - Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe." Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 16 Mar. 2026, www.westcoastblacktheatre.org/.
Semenova, Evgeniia A. "A Clown's Laughter Specificity: From 'Anesthesia of Heart' to 'Synesthesia of Love.'" Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, vol. 11, no. 2, AesthetixMS: Aesthetics Media Services, Sept. 2019, https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v11n2.20.
Sweet Pickles [@sweetestpickles]. TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@sweetestpickles
UniverSoul Circus. www.universoulcircus.com/.
Wikipedia Contributors. "Jimbo (Drag Queen)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Mar. 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimbo_(drag_queen).
PICTURE CREDITS AND ORIGINS
IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
GLASA SOFTBALL TOYSTORE - Funny Clown. https://www.glasasoftball.org/product/funny-clown
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM - A Fool in the Service of the Devil and a Virtuous Man. Hans Schaufelein. 1517. Woodcut print. Published by Silvan Otmar. Object no. 59.507.157(4).
NATIONAL POSTAL MUSEUM COLLECTION - American Circus Issue Stamps. Scott Catalogue USA 1309 (Left), copyright United States Postal Service (right)
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - Postcard photo of the main cast of Chicago's Bozo's Circus. 1 October 1968. Courtesy of WGN-TV. Public Domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bozo%27s_Circus_1968.JPG
BIG APPLE CIRCUS CLOWN CARE - Photograph of Clown Doctors at a child's quinceanera. 11 April 2015. Courtesy of Nicklaus Children's Hospital. https://www.nicklauschildrens.org/news-and-events/press-releases/big-apple-circus-clown-care-celebrates-15-years
DOCTOR PAYASO - Photograph of care clowns, taken from YouTube publication La Magia Del Clown Care. 5 February 2014. https://doctorpayaso.com
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES - J.W. Johnson's Old Reliable Virginia Minstrels handbill. 18 January 1921. M329 Circus, Minstrel and Traveling Show Collection. Public Domain.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - It 1990 Promotional Poster. Courtesy of Warner Bros Television. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:It_1990_Promotional_Poster.JPG
DEAD BY DAYLIGHT WIKI - The Clown, edited lighting render. Courtesy of BHVR. https://deadbydaylight.wiki.gg/wiki/Clown%27s_Gallery#/media/File:The_Clown_edited_lighting.png
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS - Cirque de Soleil alegro el corazon de los damnificados de Talcahuano, Chile. 2 August 2010. Courtesy of Cirque de Soleil. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cirque_de_Soleil_alegró_el_corazón_de_los_damnificados_de_Talcahuano,_Chile.jpg