(Please don't) Send in the Clowns

Batman isn't the only one who suffers from coulrophobia; per the Detroit News, one in seven people are scared of clowns.

Wallace, a teacher, has been petrified of clowns since childhood. "I know it's irrational, but they scare the bejeezus out of me," she says.

The fear of clowns, or coulrophobia, is no laughing matter. Although there are no official statistics, some experts believe that as many as one in seven people suffer from some level of the phobia, symptoms of which can include shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea and overall feelings of dread.

Pop culture hasn't helped much:

It doesn't help, clowns point out, that authors and screenwriters have often portrayed them as agents of evil. In Stephen King's 1986 novel "It," an evil clown called Pennywise harasses and kills young children. In the 1982 movie "Poltergeist," a clown doll comes to life and tries to strangle a young boy. And, of course, there's the Joker, Batman's clownlike nemesis, who appeared in the first issue of the Batman comic book in 1940.

And yes, call me one in seven; I'll take zombies and vampires over clowns any day. More on clowns