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15 creepiest photos of clowns from Florida's past

By on Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 4:44 pm

We combed the photo galleries of the Florida State Archives to search for photos of the now-defunct Orlando theme park Circus World. In addition to a lot of great old images of the park, we also turned up some pretty amazing vintage images of clowns from the past. Florida has a pretty rich clowning history, after all -- Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus moved its winter HQ to Sarasota in 1927, and the Ringling influence on the region is still felt to this day. Here are some of the creepiest photos of old Florida clowns we turned up in the archives.

Related gallery: 30 vintage photos of shuttered Orlando theme park Circus World.

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A clown with a sign (via floridamemory.com)
A clown with a sign (via floridamemory.com)
Clown Albert "Flo" White in Sarasota, 1940s (via floridamemory.com)
Clown Albert "Flo" White in Sarasota, 1940s (via floridamemory.com)
Clown Paul Jerome circa 1960 (via floridamemory.com)
Clown Paul Jerome circa 1960 (via floridamemory.com)
A toy clown in Little Havana (via floridamemory.com)
A toy clown in Little Havana (via floridamemory.com)
Clown on a poster circa 1948 (via floridamemory.com)
Clown on a poster circa 1948 (via floridamemory.com)
A clown rides a bike at the Springtime Parade in Tallahassee, circa 1984 (via floridamemory.com)
A clown rides a bike at the Springtime Parade in Tallahassee, circa 1984 (via floridamemory.com)
A boy and a clown at a watermelon-eating contest in Leesburg circa 1951 (via floridamemory.com)
A boy and a clown at a watermelon-eating contest in Leesburg circa 1951 (via floridamemory.com)
A clown waterskiing and leering.
A clown waterskiing and leering.
A clown at the Springtime Parade in Tallahassee, circa 1985 (via floridamemory.com)
A clown at the Springtime Parade in Tallahassee, circa 1985 (via floridamemory.com)
From a clown performance at the Fort Meyers Pageant of Light in 1972 (via floridamemory.com)
From a clown performance at the Fort Meyers Pageant of Light in 1972 (via floridamemory.com)
An unidentified smiling man in a clown outfit, circa 1920s (via floridamemory.com)
An unidentified smiling man in a clown outfit, circa 1920s (via floridamemory.com)
A small clown with balloons (via floridamemory.com)
A small clown with balloons (via floridamemory.com)
Two clowns in the 1940s (via floridamemory.com)
Two clowns in the 1940s (via floridamemory.com)
Another short clown with balloons and a state official (via floridamemory.com)
Another short clown with balloons and a state official (via floridamemory.com)
It's not the clown that's creepy here -- it's just the creeptastic, Carnivale ambience of the image that gets us (via floridamemory.com)
It's not the clown that's creepy here -- it's just the creeptastic, Carnivale ambience of the image that gets us (via floridamemory.com)
15 creepiest photos of clowns from Florida's past

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