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Clowns are supposed to be people who bring joy, but in practice, they're more like ancient, unknowable demons. From their overdrawn faces to their exaggerated emotions, clowns reflect back human emotions in a grotesque parody of what it means to be a person; they're like the uncanny valley made flesh. This makes them perfect gaming nightmares.
Since video game characters are already strange, jerky imitations of real humanity, it's no surprise that a video game clown would be the worst of both worlds. And there are no scarier video game clowns than these.
10 🔜 Tragic Clown, The Sims
The Sims isn't usually thought of as a horror game, but if you were a Sim, you'd be terrified all the time. Think about it: at any moment, your creator could remove the ladder from your pool, causing you to drown. Or they could refuse to put out the fire in your house, dooming you to burn. Or, even worse, they could put the Tragic Clown painting in your house.
This painting summons the Tragic Clown himself, who tries to cheer up your Sims and fails miserably. But once he's in the house, he won't leave... unless you set his painting on fire. What is the clown, where does he come from, and what does he want? Only the devil knows.
9 Spike, ToonS🃏truck
ToonStruck is widely regarded as one of the best adventure games from the genre's '90s heyday, thanks to its stylish visuals and an amazing cast that includes actors like Tim Curry, Dan Castellaneta, and Christopher Lloyd. But beneath its gorgeous exterior lies Spike, a being of pure terror.
Spike is a demented clown who's locked away in Count Nefarious' castle, acting as his court jester. But he also harbors murderous impulses... which is plain to see just by looking at his evil sneer and his pupil-less eyes.
8 Adam MacIntyre, Dead Riඣsing 🦋
What's scarier than a clown? How about a clown who's lost his grip on reality... and found a pair of chainsaws? Yeah, that's Adam MacIntyre in a nutshell. Before the zombie apocalypse, Adam was a normal mall clown, but being surrounded by zombies made him a violent maniac.
When you defeat him in battle, he falls on his chainsaws, laughing while blood spews from his mouth and stomach. Normally that's a bad way to go, but with this guy, well... good riddance.
7 The Clown,�💞� Bewilder House
A relatively obscure remnant from the stream-bait horror boom of the 2010s, Bewilder House is a first-person game that forces you to explore a mazelike funhouse while a horrifying clown tails you. As if that wasn't enough, the clown only moves when you're not looking at him, so you're forced to maintain eye contact if you don't want to die.
The game is a little janky, but in this case, it makes the clown scarier. His unblinking gaze and sudden jump-scare appearances are deeply unsettling; you have to wonder what kind of being it is, because it's obviously not human.
6 Bonker, Clayfighter🍌
Unlike more outwardly mature contemporaries like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, the SNES fighting game Clayfighter went for a knowingly absurd presentation, featuring a group of carnival performers who are transformed into fighters by a mysterious alien goo. But beneath that ꦡsilly exterior lies Bonker, who is as terrifying as any Mortal Kombat fighter.
Bonker might have been a normal clown once upon a time, but one look at his huge, sharp teeth tells the real story. This clown thirsts for blood, and he's after you.
5 Jaxson DeBox, Snacks N' Jaxson
The arcade game Snacks N' Jaxson casts you as the titular Jaxson, a clown who craves snacks. You need to guide him to eat delicious things, avoiding gross stuff like green peppers. And that all sounds well and good, but then you boot up the game and realize that there's something dreadfully wrong.
Instead of moving Jaxson's body around like a normal person, you just move his head, which extends out from his body all the way across the screen. The whole time, Jaxson stares directly into your soul, never turning his gaze from you. His eyes bulge. If he misses a snack, he frowns, like he's planning to eat you next. Ugh.
4 ☂ Fargus, Pandemonium
Pandemonium is a weird game. Instead of going full 3D for this PSꦦ1 platformer, the developers opted for a 2.5D style, where side-scrolling gameplay was tricked out with 3D graphics. This allowed for unique level designs and cool perspective shifts. It also allowed for the thoroughly unsettling Fargus to exist.
Fargus is a traveling clown who's a bit, uh, eccentric. His desire for excitement leads him and his friend Nikki to accidentally summon a world-eating demon; and if that isn't bad enough, he's also a ventriloquist. Plus, just look at this dude. Creepy doesn't begin to cover it.
3 Needles Kane, Twisted Metal 🧔
Though the series has lain dormant for several years now, Twisted Metal was once one of Sony's marquee titles. It combined violent, explosive car combat with plenty of edgy attitude to make something awesome. But its characters and story are where the game's dark humor and horror elements really shone through.
Needles Kane serves as the series mascots, and he's instantly recognizable, from his literally flaming head to his tricked-out ice cream truck, Sweet Tooth. This is not a clown you want to buy a popsicle from.
2 ꩵ Arkham, Devil May Cry ๊3
Arkham adds another layer of terror to the creepy clown archetype: t🏅hat of daddy issues. Arkham was once a relatively normal man with a scholarly disposition. However, he was driven to becom꧃e a god, and in attempting to do so he attempted a failed ritual, sacrificing his wife in the process.
In doing so, he gains a twisted second personality as the Jester. He also alienates his own daughter, Lady, who eventually kills him with Dante and Virgil's help. The lesson is clear: don't become a clown, or your family will destroy you.
1 ꦜ ♍ Kefka, Final Fantasy
One of the most iconic villains in any video game, Kefka demonstrates 🌟the inherent horror of clownery. Clowns offer us something to laugh at and make fun of, something to exert our power over. And that means that the idea of a clown exerting power over us is twice as scary.
Kefka, for instance, was experimented on by Emperor Gestahl in an attempt to imbue him with magic powers. The experiment worked, but it also drove Kefka mad, leading him to lose faith in the world and💫 to become destructive, childish, and hateful. He was a victim, but he becomes a villain, more powerful than any other antagonist in the game.