The Pierrot Has Two Faces: Gacy, Grimaldi, and Our Collective Fear of Clowns

This week I’m trying to understand how and why clowns became scary and I’ll be looking at one clown in particular to help me find the answers: Jean-Gaspard Deburau, who in 1836 was tried for the murder of a young boy. What does this little-known incident from the 19th century have to tell us about our relationship to clowns today?

 

Special thanks to Dan from TYTD Reviews for providing additional voices!

 

Show Notes:

• Creepy clown sightings prompt La Jolla school advisory (YouTube)
• Disturbing clown account threatens New Haven schools on Instagram (YouTube)
• Jean-Gaspard Deburau (Wikipedia)
• Clown (Wikipedia)

• Nye, E. (2022). Deburau: Pierrot, Mime, and culture. Routledge, Taylor et Francis Group.

• Ambs-Dalès, J.B. (1836). Histoire de Debureau.

 

This episode of Mount Molehill was written, produced, and edited by Chris, with music by Chris and Alex Bainter / CC BY. Special thanks to Dan from TYTD Reviews for providing the voice of Jean-Gaspard Deburau. All other voices featured in this episode apart from my own are computer generated.

 

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