Can't sleep, clown will eat me
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"Can't sleep, clown will eat me" is a stock phrase that's become a popular joke-explanation for insomnia.
The original source of the phrase is The Simpsons episode Lisa's First Word. In it, Homer Simpson builds his son Bart a clown bed to sleep in. However, thanks to Homer's questionable crafting skills, the clown has a highly disturbing appearance, so Bart stays up chanting "Can't sleep; clown'll eat me...Can't sleep, clown'll eat me..."
Later, Alice Cooper made a song based on the concept called "Can't Sleep; Clowns Will Eat Me" ("I can't close my eyes, I never close my eyes / See, they're always there with that funny hair").
The phrase (with plural clowns) has also been put on shirts and buttons by the store Hot Topic.
There are other precedents in American popular culture for frightening or evil clowns. In the 1982 film, Poltergeist, a menacing-looking clown doll attacked the children. In the novel and television movie adaptation of Stephen King's It, the story's villain typically assumed the form of a demonic clown named Pennywise.