[nofreelunch]

Probably less triggering at scale, but similarly to a lot of comments posted here, my mother is deathly afraid of magicians. I have seen the blood drain from her face as she grips the arms of her chair and looks around in a panic at the mention of magicians. I have witnessed full out panic attacks on encounters with real life magicians, and discomfort that one would only typically associate with watching "torture porn" or a particularly squirm-inducing Dr Pimple Popper when magicians appear on TV. Revulsion when learning that the actor Ricky Jay was more known for his work as a magician.

Conversely my mother had regular conversations with a woman who worked as a clown at a local restaurant, which caused her no displeasure.

[jollyllama]

Interesting. So it's not even a specific aesthetic, just the concept of magicians? I.e. The tuxedo and mustache guy with a top hat and a wand is just as scary as Criss Angel and/or David Blaine?

[nofreelunch]

[random guy on street] tuxedo top hat guy = actual tuxedo top hat magician = david blaine. Any type of magician or perception thereof or association with the idea.

Edit: she is not particularly religious or superstitious either. Her relation to this fear is similar to that of anyone who is extremely uncomfortable/scared of clowns, just a different elememt of the circus.