Creepy Killer Clowns: Are they really a big deal?

Clowns are well known for their ability to make people laugh but that’s not what’s been happening in many cities and towns across the U.S. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.

Since early August clowns have been reported for harassing people in their homes, out on the street, and schools. People are absolutely petrified of the thought of clowns after there has been so much talk of these “killer clowns”. There have been many different ways that people have contributed to this clown epidemic. From false reports and fake threats to dressing up as a clown and stabbing someone in the shoulder.

People are afraid of these clowns because they think that the clowns are out to harm and stalk them. That’s not the case… mostly. Eleven of the sightings have been hoaxes or people pulling pranks because of the constant talk of clowns terrorizing children and teenagers. The guardian says that “serious injuries, abductions, and murders just haven’t happened.”

Clown sightings, this year, started occurring since August 23rd but this all started in 1981. Most people have forgotten that this had happened before. It may be that there was much more buzz about it on social media this time that made people panic more. According to Vox, in past years there were school children reporting people in clown masks were driving around in a black van. Steven Hoffer with Huffington Post said a memo of caution was then issued by police. The sightings were never proven and the buzz faded until five years later when it happened all over again.

Throughout the years, Vox said, clowns have been spotted all over the U.S. including, Boston, Omaha, Florida, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Chicago, and have reached England and France. This year, Rolling Stone said that reports have spread to at least 20 states across the U.S. The reports have come from homeowners saying they heard sounds coming from the woods, school children boarding buses, drivers who see them riding around in trucks, and threats posted on social media, according to Huffington Post. After investigating, police have reported that they never saw a single fiber of a clown wig left behind and they easily traced posts back to students who wanted to scare their classmates.

Countless people have been involved in the clown hoaxes. Whether they sent a fake threat to a school, wanted to pull an innocent prank on a friend, or simply added to the never-ending posts that only gave more unnecessary attention toward the problem. Many of these people were caught, some arrested. Most of them being young kids wanting to scare their classmates.

Perhaps the only credible victims have been people in the entertainment industry who play as clowns and clown colleges. This gives the clowns that are meant for entertainment a bad reputation. “It’s not appropriate,” said Dick Milhollan, the last director of the former Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. NY Daily News recently interviewed an entertainer that said her business has taken a hit, bringing her whole profession down. Parents don’t want to book her possibly because they don’t want their kids to get scared or they view them all as scary now.

Some are recognizing this as a problem and others are taking advantage of the situation. Although the real deal clowns were losing customers rapidly, stores that still sell clown masks were making bank. CNN said other stores including Target have taken the masks off their shelves and online store as to not add to the publicity. According to CNN, McDonald’s has a clown as their mascot but due to the circumstances, they have announced that he will be taking a break until this passes. McDonald's announced giving their clown mascot a break until this passes.

Some have inferred that there will be many clowns on Halloween and could be the most chaos this year if anyone wants to be a clown for Halloween. People who see clowns are now shooting at them and threatening clowns on their social medias that if they see one they will harm them somehow. According to Dr. Brunvand in the NY Times, Children most likely repeat phantom clown stories because they are genuinely afraid of clowns and what they are hearing about them. Movies based off scary clowns don’t help with the younger generations either. Parents repeat them because of their guilt and anxiety about protecting their children.

The problem with all the hype about these clowns is that it doesn’t seem so important. There’s racism, kidnappings, burglaries, suicides, missing children, wars, poverty, and so much more that the media could be focused on. Compared to all the bad things happening in the world right now one would think that a couple people dressed as clowns and empty threats would be almost insignificant.

What might happen on Halloween? Will people use clown costumes to freak others out or has this reached its full potential? We can only know after October 31st.