For many, clowns have always occupied a sinister position. Beyond their brightly-colored clothing and garish makeup, those with a fear of clowns sense a malevolent presence that isn’t interested in making anyone scream with laughter ⁠— just scream. Because clowns represent a unique paradox, wherein a figure created for the purpose of jocularity and wonderment signifies death and destruction, they’ve been the focus of many horror films.

The “killer clown” genre isn’t particularly large, and most of its entries aren’t going to win any awards. The most famous among them is Stephen King’s IT, recently made into a feature film with a sequel, IT: Chapter 2. Pennywise the clown may be one of the most iconic horror villains of all time, but here are 10 movies featuring clowns that are sure to include painted jokers who will scare you just as much.

TERRIFIER

One of the more recent additions to the “killer clown” genre, Terrifier is a basic paint-by-numbers slasher film that manages to have both style and grit for its $100,000 budget. It begins with two young women being stalked by Art the Clown, a deranged psychopath in clown makeup and garb.

Most of the film takes place in an abandoned apartment building, where Art the Clown methodically terrorizes the young women trapped inside, as well as a pest control worker, a cat lady, and any other person who accidentally wanders in or comes to their aid. It’s an unapologetically gory throwback to ’80s slasher films and has a sequel in the works.

CLOWN

A well meaning but busy father tries to make amends by dressing up like a clown for his son’s birthday, using a costume he found in one of the houses he’s been renovating. The birthday is a success and he falls asleep in the costume, unknowingly becoming tethered to a demonic presence.

When he wakes up, removal of the clown nose results in it taking his flesh with it, and he soon realizes the same would happen with the wig and the rest of the costume. He learns that to appease the demon that’s actively working to possess his body, he must eat the flesh of five children…beginning with his son.

FEAR OF CLOWNS

As the title suggests, Fear of Clowns centers on coulrophobia, the irrational fear that typically playful clowns are actually evil. A young artist, whose paintings center on a carnival clown that’s been fueling her nightmares since childhood, is terrorized in real life by a clown referred to as “Shivers”.

Just as she’s coming out of the other side of a nasty divorce and her paintings have begun to sell very well, Shivers begins to stalk her. A schizophrenic, he believes that the only way to cure his condition is by killing her. Authorities don’t believe her, and her ex-husband is no help, so she’s forced to face her fears for the sake of herself and her son.

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE

A dark comedy from the ’80s that combines sci-fi and horror, Killer Klowns From Outer Space isn’t a particularly great film, but it’s achieved cult status since its release and offers up some campy frights. Evil aliens who resemble circus clowns invade a small town in the hopes of harvesting the inhabitants for food.

This movie has everything — alien cocoons that resemble cotton candy, a giant life-sized balloon animal dog, and ray guns that shrink the townsfolk down to be eaten out of bags of popcorn. You won’t scream very much, except with laughter. A sequel has apparently been in the works since 1988.

100 TEARS

In a slightly different take on the “killer clown” film, 100 Tears focuses on Gurdy, a lonely circus clown who is accused of rape in a small town. It sparks a murderous rage in him, which only the deaths of those who wronged him can satiate.

As the years go by, however, Gurdy  finds that he cannot quell the darkness that rages within him. When two investigative reporters try to track down the man behind the urban legend, they’re kidnapped and terrorized in his warehouse. This slasher film provides some pretty graphic death scenes.

JINGLES THE CLOWN

When the host of a children’s show turns out to be a serial killer, nothing is sacred. Jingles the Clown focuses on a maniacal psychopath dressed as a clown who abducts the Nelson family and kills all of them, except nine-year old Angela. The police are able to rescue her, and Jingles is killed…or is he?

Years later, an adult Angela agrees to appear as a special guest on a show called Haunted Maniacs. She travels to the Jingles mansion, where she learns that Jingles the Clown was the product of an incestuous and horribly abusive home. He returns from the dead, possessed by a demonic spirit to terrorize the film crew, and eventually Angela must discover a way to defeat him.

THE LEGEND OF WASCO

Back in 2016, there were a number of clown sightings around the area of Wasco, and while it was revealed to be an extensive photography project, the premise of The Legend of Wasco implies there might have been a real Wasco clown. A clown performer and his friend dress up like clowns and are captured in photographs all over town, making them a viral hit.

Unfortunately for them, they may have awakened the real Wasco clown, who’s come with minions to go on a psychotic killing spree. As the community suffers murder after murder, the friends have to devise a way to stop the Wasco clown once and for all.

BLOOD HARVEST

If you’re a fan of low-budget horror films from the ’80s, you might want to check out Blood Harvest. Horror aficionados will take note that it stars Tiny Tim, the musician with the incredible vocal range who recorded “Tip Toe Through The Tulips,” the song played to great effect in Insidious. The makeup was also the inspiration for Joker.

The film focuses on Jill, a young college student who returns home to find her house vandalized and her parents missing. Eventually she’s stalked by The Marvelous Mervo, a clown who’s obsessed with her, and will kill anyone who prevents them from being together. Tiny Tim plays Mervo here, in a delightfully campy performance. And of course, he sings throughout the film.

CLOWNHOUSE

Funded by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Sam Rockwell in his first film, Clownhouse is a wild ride of thrills and chills. When three boys are left home alone, the eldest two decide they should venture to the local circus despite the youngest one’s grave fear of clowns.

Unbeknownst to the boys, three mental patients have escaped from the nearby insane asylum and gone to the circus as well. They kill three clowns and dress up in their costumes and makeup, following the boys back to their rural farmstead for a terrifying evening of cat-and-mouse games all around the property.

KILLJOY

For fans of IT and the Wishmaster series, Killjoy is a satisfying amalgamation, beginning with a dejected boy named Michael and a doll called Killjoy. Michael is in love with a beautiful girl named Jada, who is unfortunately dating a thug named Lorenzo, leaving Michael’s love unrequited.

When Lorenzo and his gang don’t like Michael hanging around Jada, they take him into the woods to rough him up, but accidentally end up killing him. Michael, a practitioner of black magic, now inhabits the Killjoy doll, who comes to life as a full-sized clown that drives an ice-cream truck. One year later, he comes to exact his revenge on everyone who caused his pain and suffering in this gory slasher film. It was followed by four sequels.