What does this mean?

[Grinner]

I rode in silence as Mark drove us north through that autumn evening. He refused to turn on the stereo, and I refused to discuss my condition any further. I knew my decision would not set well with his Catholic upbringing, but with all that we had seen, his concern for the hereafter seemed a bit out of place.

Carol dozed off intermittently in the back seat as the first few stars began to twinkle through the charcoal clouds, but she was awake enough to see it first. All she said was “huh,” in a half question, but it was enough to make my spine run cold. I shifted in the front seat, and craned my neck to see her bruised face. She was staring out into the dark fields that ran alongside the highway, tracing her finger along the window. Following her gaze, I saw a lone figure dancing in the amber glow of a lit billboard.

It appeared to be a clown.

I first read this...maybe a year ago? It continues to amuse me.

What do you think it means? I still haven't the slightest clue.

*an RPG (the Jenga one)

[Metahuman1]

My first Impulse is to say it's a passage from Steven Kings "It". But I never read the book cause I don't care for Horror myself so I can't be sure.

[Lateral]

It's either from that novel or one of the other bazillions of clown horror stories that have popped up in its wake. -_-

[Traab]

The Violator from Spawn was out looking for new recruits.

[Eldan]

And I still don't understand why people think clowns are scary.

[Metahuman1]

Because "It" was scary for a lot of people who didn't think it through. See the Nostalgia critics review.


And the case of one John Waynes Gacey (I think that's how you spell that guys name but I'm probably wrong.) when it first came to public attention was quite unsettling.

[123456789blaaa]

And I still don't understand why people think clowns are scary.

It's the Uncanny Valley. That makeup that makes clown perpetually smile partially obscures their humanity. Clowns are also very narrowly focused towards humor. Being happy and funny is good but being happy and funny all the time is creepy.

And of course, if the clown starts being "bad" that's a jarring and unsettling deviation from what we expect a clown to be like. That's also scary.

The above doesn't apply to everyone obviously but I think they're reasons that are understandable.

[tomandtish]

It's from the "Dread" RPG as a sample and is not from an actual story. I've never actually played but briefly watched a game at a local gaming shop a few years ago. So anyone who has played can certainly correct me.

The rules in a nutshell (Copied):

Dread is a game of horror and hope. Those who play will participate in a mutual telling of an original macabre tale. The goal of Dread is to sustain the delicate atmosphere that invokes the hand quivering emotion that lends its name to the game. The thrill of a Dread game lies within the tension between desire and loss. You will take on the role of someone trapped in a story that is only as compelling as it is hostile—someone who will find themselves making decisions we hope never to face in real life.
During a Dread game you and your friends will create characters to populate your own brand of horror story. This character creation is done through a questionnaire that is created by the player who is hosting the game. Each questionnaire provides a skeleton of a character for one of the players to flesh out with their answers, creating the character they want to play. In this way, characters are molded to the story by the host, and shaped to the players’ fancy.
As the game begins, the host sets the first scene for the horror tale everyone is about to participate in. The other players interject with questions and explanations of what their characters are doing. When a character attempts a task beyond their capabilities, it’s time to turn to the Tower–a stack of blocks, such as the Jenga® game, placed within reach of everyone at the table. Players allow their characters to succeed by pulling a block, or choose to let them fail by not pulling. If, at any time in the game, the tower falls, the character of the player responsible is removed from the game, never to return. Their fate might be death, insanity, cowardice, imprisonment, possession, or something else, as the story dictates. Players prone to martyrdom can mollify this somewhat by deliberately knocking over the tower, resulting in a heroic or dramatic success which ultimately consumes the character.
So looking at your quote, you have a character (Mark) who is Catholic, one character (whose the current POV) who has a condition and a decision that is not sitting well with Mark, and Carol. So for the initial questionnaire, one question might have been "religion or religious upbringing", and another might be "current or past injuries", etc.

I always meant to pick up a copy as it seemed interesting, but never got around to it.

As for clowns being scary, as some have said part of it is how unnatural the smile looks. While I'm not terrified of clowns I never thought they looked happy. They always looked fake happy. For some, I suspect it is the "If they aren’t really happy, what are they really feeling?".

[Wardog]

And I still don't understand why people think clowns are scary.

It's probably a varient of the more general "masks are scary". Which in turn is probably a combination of "I can't tell who/what they are or what they are thinking" and "Why are they hiding themselves? They must be up to no good!"

[Killer Angel]

And I still don't understand why people think clowns are scary.

Clearly, it's because of Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

...nah, I don't really believe it. :smalltongue:

[Traab]

Clearly, it's because of Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

...nah, I don't really believe it. :smalltongue:

Nah, its the ICP. They are enough to make everyone terrified of clowns.

[Tiki Snakes]

[SPOILER]So looking at your quote, you have a character (Mark) who is Catholic, one character (whose the current POV) who has a condition and a decision that is not sitting well with Mark, and Carol. So for the initial questionnaire, one question might have been "religion or religious upbringing", and another might be "current or past injuries", etc.

My read is as follows;
Car full of horror-exploring/surviving party members, fresh-ish from some close call (hence the bruises etc). POV character is pregnant and has chosen to have an abortion. They have been arguing about her decision, POV and Mark. She thinks it's weird he's worried about the spiritual consequences in the hereafter considering the horrors they have recently witnessed or some such thing.

As for clowns?
http://www.freeenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/media/00_REGS_shutterstock_57651082_clown_659px.jpg?itok =W7cpQIW8
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Colorful_Clown_2.jpg
http://www.fancydressball.co.uk/big_images1/large-squirting-clown-glasses-35239.jpg

It's a mixture of things, I think. Firstly, they often do just look flat out creepy. They also have that kind of deranged, manic thing going on and often specialise in ignoring other peoples personal space, getting right up in peoples faces (especially Kids).

And all too often, they just aren't funny. This just makes them seem all the more weirdly out of place. There's just something off about most clowns.

[Eldan]

All of those seem like pretty bad clowns, to be honest. I know more than one person who went clowning at children's parties or in hospitals, etc. The first thing they do is put a lot of effort into their costumes to do exactly that. It shouldn't be too jarring and it shouldn't be creepy under any circumstances. Slightly weird, very-attention getting, but not creepy.

And as for the comedy.. of course a lot are bad. A lot of any kind of comedian are bad.

[Tiki Snakes]

"Better" clowns seem to wear more minimalistic makeup, from what I can see. Up to the point where a video claiming be a performance by a world-champion clown wasn't wearing ANY clown makeup.

Which is to say clowns that try hard not to look classically like clowns would be less creepy, because they look less like Clowns.

[snoopy13a]

I first read this...maybe a year ago? It continues to amuse me.

What do you think it means? I still haven't the slightest clue.

*an RPG (the Jenga one)

First paragraph is easy. The narrator is pregnant by Mark and is planning on an abortion.

I have no idea what is going on with Carol and the clown.

[Grinner]

First paragraph is easy. The narrator is pregnant by Mark and is planning on an abortion.

See, that's what I thought at first. Then I realized that there's more going on there than just pregnancy.

[HandofShadows]

Sounds like it could be something from the SCP Foundation Universe. :smalleek:

[Tiki Snakes]

See, that's what I thought at first. Then I realized that there's more going on there than just pregnancy.

They're an example party for the game. So, you know, it's saying that mundane interpersonal issues and problems and themes should be expected to rub against sudden and horrific and dangerous encounters, like whatever they've seen previously that has left the one of them with bruises and the one they are about to have with the clown.

Also, there's nothing in there that necessarily implies it's his child. In fact, I'd actually say that it's more likely not, because otherwise his complaints would have likely been more immediate and less concerned with "the hereafter".