--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was something about clowns that was…" description: "\"There was something about clowns that was worse than zombies. (Or maybe something that was the same. When you see a zombie, you want to laugh at first...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/kelly-link-9393_bicycle_there-was-something-about-clowns-that-wa_2304826.jpg" --- # There was something about clowns that was worse than… ![“There was something about clowns that was worse than zombies. (Or maybe something that was the same. When you see a zombie, you want to laugh at first. When you see a clown, most people get a little nervous. There's the pallor and the cakey mortician-style makeup, the shuffling and the untidy…” quote by Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/kelly-link-9393_bicycle_there-was-something-about-clowns-that-wa_2304826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/kelly-link-9393_bicycle_there-was-something-about-clowns-that-wa_2304826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2d/kelly-link-9393_bicycle_there-was-something-about-clowns-that-wa_2304826.jpg) > “There was something about clowns that was worse than zombies. (Or maybe something that was the same. When you see a zombie, you want to laugh at first. When you see a clown, most people get a little nervous. There's the pallor and the cakey mortician-style makeup, the shuffling and the untidy hair. But clowns were probably malicious, and they moved fast on those little bicycles and in those little crammed cars. Zombies weren't much of anything. They didn't carry musical instruments and they didn't care whether or not you laughed at them. You always knew what zombies wanted.)” [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Clowns and zombies both evoke fear, but clowns add a nervous, unsettling humor while zombies are straightforward threats. **In simple terms:** Clowns are creepy and funny; zombies are simple monsters. Key Takeaway Recognize different sources of fear. Themes fear humor creepiness monsters culture Mood uneasy darkly humorous curious Type observational analytical entertaining When to use this quote - watching horror movies - writing horror - designing characters - analyzing fear responses - creating Halloween costumes Key Concepts psychology media symbolism anthropology Questions to Reflect On - What makes a clown more unsettling than a zombie? - How does humor affect our perception of danger? A Different Perspective Clowns can be seen as harmless entertainers, not always malicious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bicycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bicycle/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Clown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Makeup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makeup/) [Morticians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morticians/) [Musical instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-instruments/) [Nervous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervous/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Shuffling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuffling/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombie/) ## Related quotes > [I quickly decided my zombies weren't really zombies. It was instead something you called people who were on this club drug, who then exhibited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-quickly-decided-my-zombies-weren-t-really-zombies-it-was-instead/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [There was a time I was willing to be a clown for people who I felt were the perfect person for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/there-was-a-time-i-was-willing-to-be-a-clown-for-people-who-i-felt/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [No clowns were funny. That was the whole purpose of a clown. People laughed at clowns, but only out of nervousness. The point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/no-clowns-were-funny-that-was-the-whole-purpose-of-a-clown-people/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Comedy is obviously a matter of personal taste and the world always needs a clown and some people have no taste at all and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/comedy-is-obviously-a-matter-of-personal-taste-and-the-world-always/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [I was raised joking. You clown, you clown people. That's kind of how we come up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-redd/i-was-raised-joking-you-clown-you-clown-people-that-s-kind-of-how-we/) [Chris Redd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-redd/) > [People are strange. We're all morticians. Hey, what's on TV?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-ocasek/people-are-strange-we-re-all-morticians-hey-what-s-on-tv/) [Ric Ocasek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-ocasek/) > [MGM bores me when I see them, but I don't see them much. They have been a help in getting me introductions to morticians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/mgm-bores-me-when-i-see-them-but-i-don-t-see-them-much-they-have-been/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [A mortician can make a dead man look better than he ever did when he was alive. So churches like Sardis may appear very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/a-mortician-can-make-a-dead-man-look-better-than-he-ever-did-when-he/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [The noblest lord is ushered in By the practicing physician, And the humblest lout is ushered out By a certified mortician. And in between,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-noblest-lord-is-ushered-in-by-the-practicing-physician-and-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [ My stay in Camp Betty was the longest I'd been without drink or drugs in my adult life. \[...\] At first, they put me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/my-stay-in-camp-betty-was-the-longest-i-d-been-without-drink-or-drugs/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Funeralese has had its ups and downs. The word 'morticians,' first used in Embalmers Monthly for February, 1895, was barred by the Chicago Tribune…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mitford/funeralese-has-had-its-ups-and-downs-the-word-morticians-first-used/) [Jessica Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mitford/) > [We are buried when we're born. The world is a place of graves occupied and graves potential. Life is what happens while we wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/we-are-buried-when-we-re-born-the-world-is-a-place-of-graves-occupied/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The mortician interviewing the corpses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/the-mortician-interviewing-the-corpses/) [Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/) > [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“To confront death every day, to see it yourself, you have to love the living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-melinek/to-confront-death-every-day-to-see-it-yourself-you-have-to-love-the/) Judy Melinek ## More by Kelly Link > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I didn't do anything as active as deciding that I wanted to be a writer. For one thing, I didn't feel like I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-didn-t-do-anything-as-active-as-deciding-that-i-wanted-to-be-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“When his writing is going well, Gordon Strangle Mars likes to wake up at 6 a.m. and go out driving. He works out new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/when-his-writing-is-going-well-gordon-strangle-mars-likes-to-wake-up/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [It's very unlikely that a writer is going to make a living by writing. So then the question is: how do you balance work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/it-s-very-unlikely-that-a-writer-is-going-to-make-a-living-by-writing/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Most of the things that I remember from childhood wouldn't make a particularly good story: rescuing worms during rainstorms, our schnauzer attacking a wheel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/most-of-the-things-that-i-remember-from-childhood-wouldn-t-make-a/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Tell me which you could sooner do without, love or water.” “What do you mean?” “I mean, could you live without love, or could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/tell-me-which-you-could-sooner-do-without-love-or-water-what-do-you/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [You were going to travel for love, without shoes, or cloak, or common sense. This is one of the things a woman can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/you-were-going-to-travel-for-love-without-shoes-or-cloak-or-common/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [A vampire is a flexible metaphor. You know, death, sex, change, stagnation, loss of self, loss of agency, having to keep one's real self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/a-vampire-is-a-flexible-metaphor-you-know-death-sex-change-stagnation/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“If you were to say a witch's chess set instead of a witch's family , there would be some truth in that. Perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/if-you-were-to-say-a-witch-s-chess-set-instead-of-a-witch-s-family/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Hildy has resigned herself to this, that life is a series of sudden disappearences, leavetakings without the proper good-byes. Someday she too might vanish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/hildy-has-resigned-herself-to-this-that-life-is-a-series-of-sudden/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“Jeremy and Karl and Elizabeth have known each other since the first day of kindergarten. Amy and Talis are a year younger...Now the five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/jeremy-and-karl-and-elizabeth-have-known-each-other-since-the-first/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [I built a cannon out of ice, and wrapped myself in the funeral carpet which my husbands and wives had woven for me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-built-a-cannon-out-of-ice-and-wrapped-myself-in-the-funeral-carpet/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [“This is the list you carry in your pocket, of the things you plan to say to Kay, when you find him, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/this-is-the-list-you-carry-in-your-pocket-of-the-things-you-plan-to/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) [Explore all 70 Kelly Link quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## More Bicycle quotes > [I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-stand-and-rejoice-every-time-i-see-a-woman-ride-by-on-a-wheel-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [At that age, it's one of the worse things in the world to wake up and not see your bike where you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/at-that-age-it-s-one-of-the-worse-things-in-the-world-to-wake-up-and/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-think-if-i-got-a-bicycle-from-my-father-i-should-give-a-car-to-my/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Life is like a bicycle; keep moving on to maintain balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/life-is-like-a-bicycle-keep-moving-on-to-maintain-balance/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It has been explained to me that toys are packaged in shards, to be assembled by the middle-aged and butter-fingered, because this makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kerr/it-has-been-explained-to-me-that-toys-are-packaged-in-shards-to-be/) [Jean Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kerr/) > [I simply want to celebrate the fact that right near your home, year in and year out, a community college is quietly - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/i-simply-want-to-celebrate-the-fact-that-right-near-your-home-year-in/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/let-me-tell-you-what-i-think-of-bicycling-i-think-it-has-done-more-to/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [If we’re going to talk about transport, I would say that the great city is not the one that has highways, but one where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-penalosa/if-we-re-going-to-talk-about-transport-i-would-say-that-the-great/) [Enrique Penalosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-penalosa/) > [Like a fish needs a bicycle. A goldfish riding a bicycle underwater. I need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-dunn/like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-a-goldfish-riding-a-bicycle-underwater-i/) Irina Dunn > [Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-riding-a-bicycle-to-keep-your-balance-you-must-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love a bicycle, and I haven't been without at least one since I was three years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-may/i-love-a-bicycle-and-i-haven-t-been-without-at-least-one-since-i-was/) [James May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-may/) > [ Rose: Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas! The Doctor: Who says I'm not, red-bicycle-when-you-were-twelve? Rose: \[shocked\] What? The Doctor: And everybody… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/rose-look-at-you-beaming-away-like-you-re-father-christmas-the-doctor/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [Life is like riding a bicycle: you don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-pepper/life-is-like-riding-a-bicycle-you-don-t-fall-off-unless-you-stop/) [Claude Pepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-pepper/) [Browse all 531 Bicycle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bicycle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was something about clowns that was worse than zombies. (Or maybe something that was the same. When you see a zombie, you want to laugh at first. When you see a clown, most people get a little nervous. There's the pallor and the cakey mortician-style makeup, the shuffling and the untidy hair. 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