Spelljammer Space Clowns Are A Thing In Spelljammer

WotC's Chris Perkins discusses Spelljammer's space clowns in a new video.

 

[MGibster]

I dunno if there's any generation after Boomers (or maybe even Greatest) where it isn't a thing, so I'm unsurprised to hear this, though man, sorry Gen Z had to join the club.

Gen X here, I don't remember clowns being particularly scary as I was growing up. Other than Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's It and Bart Simpson's fear of the scary clown bed Homer made for him.

 

[Reynard]

become a Gen Z thing

Scary clowns are a law of nature.

 

[Reynard]

Gen X here, I don't remember clowns being particularly scary as I was growing up. Other than Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's It and Bart Simpson's fear of the scary clown bed Homer made for him.

And, you know, the cinematic inspiration for this aspect of Spelljammer...

 

[Mind of tempest]

Scary clowns are a law of nature.

I have no fear of clowns and I am Z

 

[Reynard]

I have no fear of clowns and I am Z

My point was that EVERY generation has had scary clowns. It isn't a "Gen Z" thing.

 

[Weiley31]

PC backstory.

 

[TwoSix]

My point was that EVERY generation has had scary clowns. It isn't a "Gen Z" thing.

My personal experience is that the "scary clown" trope is somewhat more prevalent in Gen Z than in earlier generations. If you ask kids to describe the stereotypical "monster under the bed" or "monster hiding in the woods", they tend to default to the clown trope. My younger kids don't even realize there's a connection between clowns and circuses, they just view them as a generic boogeyman.

 

[payn]

Gen X here, I don't remember clowns being particularly scary as I was growing up. Other than Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's It and Bart Simpson's fear of the scary clown bed Homer made for him.

Dont recall Problem Child?

 

[Reynard]

My personal experience is that the "scary clown" trope is somewhat more prevalent in Gen Z than in earlier generations. If you ask kids to describe the stereotypical "monster under the bed" or "monster hiding in the woods", they tend to default to the clown trope. My younger kids don't even realize there's a connection between clowns and circuses, they just view them as a generic boogeyman.

The trope has been everywhere forever.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Gen X here, I don't remember clowns being particularly scary as I was growing up. Other than Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's It and Bart Simpson's fear of the scary clown bed Homer made for him.

Maybe you guys just largely invented/popularized it and then inflicted it on my generation? They were certainly regarded as scary/creepy when I was growing up (born 1978 so an "Xennial" or "Elder Millennial" lol). Doesn't help that in the UK we have Punch & Judy and stuff of course, and that's obviously creepy as hell. Gacy got arrested in '78 I note.

From the trope it looks like it's been around in some form for a long time, but really takes off in the late '70s and '80s - Monster Clown - TV Tropes