Time for a True StoryTM
When I was a kid I lived for a while in southern Arkansas, but eventually my family decided to move out-of-state. So, we spent the last week or so of our time there staying at my grandparents'. Anyhow, my grandparents were friends with their local mechanic, a guy named Dan, who dressed up as a clown for children's birthday parties on the side. (It was 1985, I was 5, and this groundbreaking research had not yet seen the light of day and adults still thought children liked clowns.)
So. My grandparents though it would be an awesome going away present for me if they asked Dan to dress up like a clown and come wake me up in the middle of the night, filling my childish mind with glee and wonder at such an unexpected surprise.
Sleeping in a stranger's house and being shook awake to find a strange man dressed as a clown hovering over you... It's probably the single most terrifying experience of my life.