TODAY's Meredith Vieira recently posted something interesting on her blog about the fear of clowns:

"A study recently came out of England that found children are afraid of clowns. Researchers from the University of Sheffield were examining how to improve the environment in children’s hospital wards. All 250 patients between the ages of 4 and 16 that were polled said they disliked the use of clowns."

However, as someone who became a "clown doctor" for a day through the outreach program, Clown Care, Meredith said she's seen first-hand how clowns can lift a child's spirit.

"I understand that some kids, and even adults, may be scared of clowns. But this program has visited more than 250,000 sick children and I’d hate to see a study of 250 kids diminish that track record."

Read more from Meredith's blog and tell us what you think. Do clowns help or do they cause fear?