Name: Killer clowns.

Age: 100.

Appearance: Menacing.

Why are we talking about killer clowns now? They’re on the rise.

What, again? I thought we hit peak clown years ago. You may be thinking of the great clown panic of 2016.

That rings a bell. In the autumn of that year, creepy clown sightings exploded across the UK – 18 were reported to Gwent police alone. For a few weeks, at least, a deeply divided country was united in hysteria.

I seem to remember calling 999 myself at a kids’ birthday party – crazy times. Police issued genuine warnings and regular clowns complained that their livelihoods were at risk from evil impersonators.

And then they all went away? Yes, but not in the cinema. The killer clown remains a recognised – and still buoyant – horror film genre. In the 2010s, 97 horror clown movies were produced; already in the 2020s, there have been 38. Peak clown is some way off yet.

How do we know all this? The film researcher Stephen Follows says so in The Horror Report, a newly published study of 27,000 horror films. According to his findings, clowns account for one in 100 horror villains.

How did this start? Clowns are supposed to be funny. The first horror clown film is said to be 1924’s He Who Gets Slapped, starring Lon Chaney, about a betrayed scientist who starts a career as a clown and kills his enemies with a lion.

Would watch. The Clown Murders, from 1976, was another milestone in the genre. Poltergeist featured a clown doll. The Batman films have the Joker. Then there’s Pennywise, Stephen King’s evil clown from the 1990 TV series It and the subsequent 2017 film.

I’ve seen scarier clowns at McDonald’s, to be honest. Have you sampled the Terrifier series? The latest instalment, Terrifier 3, was released two weeks ago and reportedly had audiences vomiting.

Might skip. In any case, fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is pretty common.

But where does it come from? One study, using the Origins of Fear of Clowns questionnaire, found the terror to be multifaceted.

The Origins of Fear of Clowns questionnaire? The OFCQ, yes. Results suggested it’s a combination of facial appearance, unpredictability of behaviour and negative media portrayal.

I blame the Joker. His antics haven’t helped the clowning fraternity one bit.

Do say: “There were six of them and they had this tiny little car.”

Don’t say: “You there, behind the sewer grate – can you do me a balloon giraffe?”