Over the years, killer clowns have morphed form from jealous husbands to demonic beings, from space invaders to serial killers.

If John Wayne Gacy is any evidence, truth can often be more frightening than fiction. Let's hope that's not the case as we unveil the following 69 crazy killer clown flicks:

Clowns as antagonists began with the Italian opera Pagliacci in 1892. It's essentially a love triangle between 3 actors in a play, ending with the jealous husband, Canio (who plays the clown Pagliacci in the play-within-a-play), murdering his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on-stage in the final act. Unlike previous entries in our series of subgenre examinations ( Nunsploitation and Cannibals ), the Italians may have originated the concept but, in film, it has been uniquely dominated by American releases.