
Facts About The Recent Clown Sightings That Just Don’t Add Up
Thanks to iconic fictional villains like Pennywise from It, the creepy animated doll from Poltergeist, and American Horror Story‘s Twisty, to name a few, clowns have become some of the most unnerving human disguises of all time. This fall, people across America have been capitalizing on that built-in creep factor by scaring the daylights out of random passersby, with varying levels of ill intent. Some have simply been spotted standing around to scare up some shock-value squeals, while others have actually threatened or caused harm to others. What started out as an isolated incident in a single Southern city has since become a strange national pandemic of eerie clown sightings in cities across the country, and the facts surrounding this new wave of weird criminality are almost too bizarre to believe.
How it all started
The terror first began in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 21, 2016, when the county sheriff’s office filed a report from an apartment complex in which residents claimed to have seen a suspicious person in a clown costume lurking about the neighborhood and trying to lure kids into the woods with money. The clown in question was initially believed to live in an abandoned home near a trail in the woods, but when police approached the empty residence, nothing was found.
It didn’t stop there, of course. Within a matter of days, residents of other Greenville apartment complexes reported seeing not one but two clowns lurking near the woods, indicating that even more actors might be suiting up to summon up scares in the Palmetto State in a freakish trend.
They've since been all over the place
In the few weeks that followed the initial sightings, clowns began to pop up again and again, and their activity level has been vastly different from case to case — when the sightings are confirmed, that is.
On the milder side of the spectrum are cases like what happened in Washington state, after several people reported seeing clowns out and about making odd gestures to people on the streets. In Denver, one clown was said to be following people to their cars and then stopping and waving when confronted. Not that either of those instances aren’t bad enough (because, seriously, why?!), but those actors were pretty harmless compared to other cities.
In Portland, Oregon, for example, a 20-year-old woman said she was almost carjacked by someone in a silver clown mask who started banging on her windows and attempted to enter the vehicle before she sped off. In Phoenix, a pair of 17-year-olds were arrested for a string of armed fast food store robberies committed while wearing clown masks and wielding a gun, although no one was hurt, thankfully. And in Columbus, Ohio, a 14-year-old boy said he was chased by a knife-wielding clown while on his way to school and only escaped by running to a bus stop after hurling a rock at his pursuer.
At least one case has turned fatal
Despite so many spine-tingling reports, some still might not take the recent rash of clown-related crimes seriously and consider it a giant, albeit spiraling-out-of-control, hoax. At least one of these scattered incidents has turned fatal, however. A 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy named Christian Torres was stabbed to death in late September, allegedly by a 29-year-old man who showed up to a residential area wearing a clown mask (one which was reportedly inspired by The Purge, no less) and got in a fight with the victim. The victim was mortally wounded by being stabbed in the heart and was declared dead on the scene, while two others were also wounded by stabbing during the attack.
A lot of schools have been affected
Several schools across the nation have briefly been locked down in response to clown-related threats on social media. In Fort Worth, Texas, for example, school children were reportedly frightened to find a clown in the parking lot tying balloons to cars, while others witnessed a clown running down a street sidewalk yelling. Area schools were put on lockdown after the reports while they investigated the threats and, ultimately, came up empty-handed.
At the University of Delaware, students and police were on high alert about the possibility that a campus crawler may have adopted the menacing mask routine there as well. And a clown in Fort Wayne, Indiana, harassed 11 elementary school students waiting at their bus stop.
There have also been some disturbing school threats
Given the sudden spread and severity of these incidents, officials across the country are taking online clown threats very seriously, especially when they involve schools. Some social media users have sparked grave concern by blasting threats to specific schools. For example, in Mesa, Arizona, a Facebook account called “Ain’t Clowning Around” was said to have publicly announced threats like, “We will be at high schools this Friday to either kidnap students or kill teachers going to their cars” and “Ready to play Red Mountain Kids?” (Red Mountain is the high school in the district.) The account reportedly even texted certain students with threats that he or she planned to hurt the kids. Similar Facebook threats were made at other schools, including in Houston. A Twitter account by the same name also threatened students at Pasco County, Florida, schools.
Kids themselves are getting involved
It’s not just adults getting in trouble for this not-funny business right now. There’ve been several cases of kids who have themselves gotten in on all the clowning around, and the law has not treated their juvenile delinquency kindly. For example, a 10-year-old (yes, ten) in Montgomery, Alabama, was arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat for a clown-related remark.
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old girl was also arrested and charged in Hampton, Virginia, after she reportedly attempted to contact a clown online in hopes of having him murder her middle school teacher … really. And a 15-year-old was arrested in Fairborn, Ohio, after he was caught adopting an online clown persona which threatened to kill local students. We’d say these kids should just go outside and get away from their computers more, but … yeah.
Some people are fighting back
While many people are relying on first responders to tackle any potential threats, others are taking measures into their own hands and lashing back at the clown offenders they come across. For example, a man in Greensboro, North Carolina, reportedly grabbed a machete and chased the clown who was haunting his apartment complex back into the woods. Meanwhile, an 11-year-old from Athens, Georgia, was arrested for bringing a knife to school in order to protect herself from the lingering threat of clowns which were being investigated in a nearby area.
Even a policeman has gotten in trouble
A White Hall, Arkansas, police officer was suspended without pay for two days for dressing up as a clown and allowing the photo to be posted to his social media page, even though he wasn’t suspected of having any part in local sightings of dangerous clowns. While it might have seemed like a fairly innocent action, his superiors regarded it as an exercise of poor judgment, given the current anti-clown climate, and decided to take official action against him for it.
False reports are flying
One of the more challenging aspects of addressing this deluge of petrifying pranks is that it’s hard for authorities to determine when reports are real or false. Some police stations have shown a sense of humor about rampant rumors, like the Orem, Utah, police department, which included a photo of Ronald McDonald in a Facebook post about the clown scares.
But it isn’t funny when false reports come into play, like when a Macon, Georgia, couple reportedly lied to police about clowns trying to lure children into a white van. They were charged with obstruction and unlawful conduct. In Reading, Ohio, a woman reportedly fabricated a story about being attacked by a clown as an excuse for showing up late work and was charged with giving a false police report.
Actual clowns don't like what's happening
While we can probably expect an uptick in the amount of clowns taking to the streets this Halloween as a result of this fracas, real-life clowns-for-hire are none too thrilled with the toll this stream of scares has taken on their line of work. In Corpus Christi, Texas, a group of trained clown entertainers reported fears that their business would take a financial hit as a result of the spree.
Another clown expressed his concern that he may be in actual danger of being harmed by someone who might mistake him for one of these bad actors. “I’ve been working very hard to be a friendly clown,” said Ivan Mendez, of Kansas City, Missouri. “It’s scary because … I see some comments of people that want to kill clowns.” In Oakland, Maryland, meanwhile, a troupe of pro clowns opted out of participating in a planned parade as a result of the increasing fear of their presence.
It's causing some Constitutionality questions, too
Under normal circumstances, ordinary citizens would be well within their Constitutionally protected right to free speech to dress up in any way they like that’s not considered indecent (in other words, nudity), including these ultra-creepy clown costumes. But right now, considering the implicit threat contained in such a look, some people are getting into trouble simply for donning the less wholesome versions of a clown get-up. But whether it’s legal for them to be locked up is questionable.
For example, in Cross County, Arkansas, the sheriff has issued a warning to residents that if they’re seen wearing “bloody-faced” or “scary” clown costumes, they’re going to face legal trouble for that decision. “I’m not talking about the Bozos or the Ronald McDonald clowns,” Sheriff J.R. Smith said in a statement after four men were reportedly spotted wearing clown costumes in Wynne, Arkansas. “It’s the evil, scary clowns who have the intent to scare and harass people.” Sheriff Smith isn’t the only one to take such draconian measures to protect his town from clowns, either.
Police in Middlesboro, Kentucky, arrested a man who was dressed as a clown near the woods of their town, justifying the arrest by stating that “Dressing as a clown and driving, walking or standing in public can create a dangerous situation for you and others … While dressing up is not, in and of itself against the law, doing so in public and thereby creating an unnecessary sense of alarm is illegal.”
University of Arkansas law professor Danielle D. Weatherby immediately challenged the legality such orders, telling the Democrat Gazette, “What you wear, without conduct, cannot be criminalized,” and, “Someone else’s subjected fear is not grounds for any arrest.” Count on this to possibly cause a First Amendment tangle in the courts if it gets too carried away.
This has happened before
Perhaps the most surprising element in all this is that it’s not the first time a gaggle of clowns has run amok and caused problems for communities. In 2014, the town of Bakersfield, California, was the site of a series of scary clowns roaming about town at night. That rash reportedly began as an innocent photography project which incited copycats who then did terrorize locals in costume, as the previously innocent picture poses suggested.
The small clown craze of that year also spread to Jacksonville, Florida, when clowns were caught sneaking onto people’s’ porches at night and even hamming it up for home security cameras. Shudder.
Just as soon as it began … it ended
For something that looked exactly like the start of a terrible horror movie, the clown thing wound up being mostly nothing. Despite fears of a mass invasion featuring scores of creepy, weapon-happy clowns who long for your blood and screams, one that was supposed to start on Halloween and presumably end when the last non-clown stopped breathing, very little happened. If that isn’t enough, since Halloween, there have been virtually no sightings of creepy clowns, if any at all. Aside from the occasional actual attack by a psychopath dressed like Krusty, it’s almost like the creepy clown thing was never much more than a spooky Halloween gimmick.
But something did happen on Halloween! Kind of. In Orange County, Florida, two men were checking their car out when 20 teenagers wearing those scary clown masks from The Purge showed up and unleashed Hell. One of the men was stabbed with “a machete-type weapon,” while the other took a hockey stick to the head, an injury that required staples to close back up. Sadly, as of this writing, no arrests have been made.
But one attack does not equal a clown-pocalypse, and since then nothing has happened. Either the bored kids dressing up like clowns and acting like the Joker found something new to do, or the creepy clowns were all scooped up by the mothership and put in stasis until next Halloween, when their services will be required again. There’s only one way to find out … wait.
53 thoughts on “Facts About The Recent Clown Sightings That Just Don’t Add Up”
Leave a Reply

The Truth Behind The Exorcism Of Michael Taylor

The Truth About The Most Remote Island In The World

Rolls-Royce Plans To Build Mini Nuclear Reactors By 2029

Willie Nelson Hasn't Quit Pot, Just Smoking

Kim Jong-Un Orders Floating Australian Luxury Hotel Destroyed

The Secret To Becoming Good At Math

The Truth About The Blue-Green Algae That's Killing Dogs

Bizarre Educational Videos They Actually Showed In School

People Who Got Screwed For Looking Exactly Like Someone Else

The Most Bizarre Things Discovered By Airport Security
purchase tricor online tricor usa fenofibrate 160mg us
order cialis 5mg online viagra mail order viagra 100mg brand
mintop medication generic cialis buy ed meds online
precose over the counter buy griseofulvin 250 mg without prescription where to buy fulvicin without a prescription
aspirin 75mg cheap order levofloxacin 500mg online cheap zovirax order
buy generic meloset online buy aygestin no prescription buy danocrine 100mg pills
buy cheap generic dipyridamole buy felodipine sale buy pravastatin 20mg online cheap
buy generic duphaston buy duphaston 10mg online buy jardiance generic
buy generic fludrocortisone for sale dulcolax 5mg usa buy loperamide 2mg sale
buy cheap prasugrel buy dimenhydrinate 50mg generic buy detrol 1mg pills
ferrous sulfate online order ascorbic acid 500 mg generic buy betapace generic
order mestinon 60 mg buy generic piroxicam order maxalt 10mg pills
order generic enalapril 10mg vasotec drug lactulose online order
omeprazole medication montelukast 5mg for sale order lopressor pill
I have recently started a website, the info you offer on this site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work.
buy micardis 80mg for sale order movfor pill movfor online buy
order cenforce generic buy cenforce cheap aralen 250mg usa
buy astelin 10ml for sale buy astelin no prescription irbesartan 300mg us
buy esomeprazole pill order generic nexium 40mg buy topamax 200mg generic
how to get imitrex without a prescription order levofloxacin 500mg pill dutasteride buy online
order allopurinol 300mg sale buy zyloprim 300mg generic crestor 10mg cost
ranitidine 150mg uk buy cheap generic ranitidine celecoxib 200mg uk
order buspin without prescription buy amiodarone 200mg online order amiodarone 200mg generic
cost flomax 0.4mg flomax generic oral simvastatin 10mg
domperidone 10mg brand sumycin price buy tetracycline medication
buy cheap spironolactone finpecia us buy generic proscar
cheap essay online order research paper online custom dissertation services
diflucan over the counter cost acillin purchase baycip for sale
sildenafil cheap order aurogra pill estradiol price
metronidazole 200mg tablet order keflex 125mg generic cephalexin price
how to get lamictal without a prescription order lamotrigine 50mg online buy mebendazole generic
buy cleocin without prescription purchase cleocin generic purchase fildena generic
cost tretinoin order tadalafil 20mg pills stendra oral
purchase nolvadex online buy tamoxifen online buy budesonide no prescription
cheap tadalafil buy diclofenac 50mg sale indocin oral
cefuroxime for sale cefuroxime 500mg cost robaxin over the counter
desyrel 100mg tablet order clindac a generic clindac a us
lamisil for sale online free slot games no download
aspirin pills aspirin 75mg cost online casino no deposit bonus
write my paper website that does homework for you order generic cefixime 200mg
order research paper online online casino slots real money slots
trimox 500mg oral amoxicillin for sale online clarithromycin price
rocaltrol uk fenofibrate 160mg price fenofibrate pills
order catapres 0.1 mg without prescription order catapres 0.1mg without prescription oral tiotropium bromide 9 mcg
order alfuzosin best generic allergy pills stomach acid medication generic names
order minocycline 100mg order minocin generic ropinirole 2mg brand
what is the strongest sleeping pill effective weight loss pills gnc fastest weight loss pills
letrozole 2.5 mg without prescription cost albendazole 400 mg abilify 20mg us
best smoking cessation pills list of strong painkillers brand of pain reliever
how to get medroxyprogesterone without a prescription buy provera 5mg generic hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg for sale
where to buy paxlovid online prescription medication for shingles relief drugs approved in 2023
periactin ca fluvoxamine ca order ketoconazole 200 mg without prescription
fungus clear customer reviews most effective antifungal cream blood pressure drugs name