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.