Stop Clowning Around
It’s time to calm down about clowns.
Maybe you never panicked in the first place, or maybe you thought twice about going out at night alone. Whatever the case, we thought with everything starting to wind down we’d take a look into the timeline of what’s been happening across the nation since August, the history of the scary clown phenomenon.
It all started in August, when Greenville, South Carolina authorities received reports of clowns lurking around an apartment complex trying to lure children into the woods, according to Buzzfeed News. Since then, sightings have exploded across the U.S., though many — especially ones from social media — haven’t been confirmed.
Some notable sightings
A man in Kentucky was arrested for causing public alarm by dressing up as a clown — complete with mask — and hiding the woods. Another Alabama man was arrested for disorderly conduct after scaring residents by running around a parking lot dressed as a clown. In New York, a knife-wielding clown chased a teen out of a subway. And then a man was arrested after he went into a convenience store in North Carolina, while wearing clown makeup.
Ohio schools were closed after a rash of clown sightings and online threats, with several students arrested for making clown-related threats on social media. Other schools have sent out warnings and notices.
No one has been seriously hurt in any of these sightings, though a victim in a fatal stabbing in Pennsylvania was reportedly wearing a clown mask atop his head.
For a full, comprehensive list of clown sightings and arrests, check out Heavy.com’s article, or Atlas Obscura’s interactive map.
It's time to stop spreading this hysteria. If killer clowns show up around here, I'm sure we'll know about it and we'll get the information from local police - not some half-baked social media posting.
Get a grip, folks.
And, just out of curiosity, since when did clowns become symbols of murder and mayhem? The TV show "American Horror Story" featured a freaky, homicidal clown awhile back. Maybe that's what sparked all of this nonsense, and maybe we're all watching a little too much TV.
Now for me, “I’m not super scared, I truly think 99% of them are just people playing jokes, but I think it’s the uncertainty of whether they actually pose a threat is scary.”
Though I think we will definitely see a lot this Halloween, so be careful out there!
