Scary Clown Costume Ideas

Many people find clowns scary without changing the makeup, but a few dark touches can intensify the fear.

Coulrophobia is a fear of clowns. In cases where someone has Coulrophobia, the clowns don't necessarily need to look scary to be frightening. If, however, you want to create a clown costume for Halloween that takes the theme of clown fear to another level, there are a number of ways you can turn an ordinary clown into something more frightening.

Clown Hair

Clown hair is typically characterized by its wild properties. Red is a common color for clown hair. Skip the bright red and go for a long wig in dark black or streaked with white or gray. This darker approach to hair will add a drastic change to the appearance of your costume from the start. Be sure to tease the wig out until it's frizzy and wild.

Clown Clothes

Traditional clown clothes will work for a scary clown costume, especially if you splatter the outfit with fake blood. If you want more than a traditional clown outfit, exchange the big shoes for a pair of black leather boots with spikes or the jumpsuit for a pair of coveralls. The jumpsuit and coveralls are found on many of the slasher serial killers like Jason and Michael Myers, giving them an eerie feel that can help add the effect to your clown costume.

Clown Makeup

There are several ways to alter basic clown makeup in such a way that the effect is scary. Instead of using the standard white clown base, mix it with a touch of black or blue to give it an off-white effect. The off-white effect can give your clown makeup a more dead-looking appearance. Adding dark smears of makeup under the eyes and smearing the red lipstick to create a bloody effect can also make the makeup look more frightening. Combine clown makeup effects with traditional scary figures such as death, vampires or zombies.

Clown Props

Don't carry a ball or a bouquet of flowers (unless the bouquet is dead or consists of black roses). Carry a bloody knife, an axe or a toy gun. Other props you might consider include a scythe or sickle.

References

• Youtube: How to Make a Scary Clown Mouth
• Lafreebee: Scary Clown Makeup Tutorial
• CVB: Scary Clown Makeup Designs

Resources

• Haunted Props: Scary Clown Props