popularized by Stephen King's It, and perhaps influenced by John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer dubbed the Killer Clown in 1978. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a 1988 horror comedy dedicated to the topic. The Joker character in the Batman franchise was introduced in 1940 and has developed into one of the most recognizable and iconic fictional characters in popular culture, leading Wizard magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" ranking in 2006. Although Krusty the Clown, a cartoon character introduced 1989 in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, is a comical, non-scary clown, the character reveals darker aspects in his personality. In The Simpsons episode "Lisa's First Word" (1992), children's fear of clowns features in the form of a very young Bart being traumatized by an inexpertly built Krusty the Clown themed bed, repeatedly uttering the phrase "can't sleep, clown will eat me...." The phrase inspired an Alice Cooper song in the album Dragontown (2001) and became a popular catchphrase. The American rap duo Insane Clown Posse have exploited this theme since 1989 and have inspired Twiztid and similar acts, many on Psychopathic Records, to do likewise. Websites dedicated to evil clowns and the fear of clowns appeared in the late 1990s. The Joker, the nemesis of Batman, whose key features are chalk-white skin, emerald-green hair, ruby-red lips and (in some iterations) a perpetual smile, usually a permanent sardonic grin or a Glasgow smile, depending on the adaption of the character. He is commonly depicted as a criminal mastermind, as well as a sadistic and murderous psychopath. The character is also known by several nicknames, including "the Clown Prince of Crime". The 2014 film Theatre of Fear, directed by Andrew Jones, featured a murderous clown character played by Nathan Head. The 1982 film Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, along with the 2015 remake of the same name directed by Gil Kenan, feature a possessed clown doll. Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the main antagonist in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It and its adaptations. Pennywise was portrayed in the 1990 television miniseries version by Tim Curry and by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 film adaptation and its 2019 sequel. The 1988 film Killer Klowns from Outer Space, directed by the Chiodo Brothers, features extraterrestrial evil clowns as the story's antagonists. The 1989 film Clownhouse, written and directed by Victor Salva, concerns brothers who are attacked