Clowns Exhibiting Suspicious Behavior May Resurface Autumnally; Law Enforcement Issues Cautionary Statement
In the autumn of 2016, a wave of creepy clown sightings swept across the globe, causing widespread fear and panic. The phenomenon, which began in the United States and quickly spread to Europe, Canada, and beyond, was largely attributed to a social media trend and a hoax phenomenon.
The resurgence of interest in creepy clowns can be linked to the upcoming release of the IT remake, set to hit cinemas later this week. However, the World Clown Association has expressed concerns that movies like Stephen King's IT, with its portrayal of clowns as something to be feared, negatively impact the image of professional clowns.
The clown hysteria began in 2013, with reports of people dressed as clowns lurking in woods and attempting to lure children. These sightings were often exaggerated and spread rapidly through social media platforms, creating a cultural phenomenon of fear and fascination with clowns. Many of the reported sightings were later found to be fabricated or misinterpreted, but they contributed to the broader cultural fear of clowns that year.
In the United States, the trend was amplified by media coverage and public anxiety, leading to similar sightings being reported in other countries. One early case involved a clown resembling Pennywise from Stephen King's IT, but it turned out to be part of a viral marketing project.
Some of the most notable incidents included a clown in Adelaide, Australia, attempting to steal a cell phone from two young girls at 9:30 p.m., and a clown in Quebec approaching a vehicle on a dirt road, then returning with a chainsaw (in a video-recorded incident). In Scotland, children reported seeing a clown at a park in Inverness, and a scooter left at the park was later missing, believed to have been taken by the clown.
The peak of the clown sightings was in the fall of 2016 and became a worldwide phenomenon, reaching nearly every state in the U.S., most of Canada, and about 19 countries in total. One confirmed sighting occurred at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago in July 2015, where a clown was seen scaling the main gate and waving before running into the darkness.
Police investigated an abandoned house by a lake in Greenville, South Carolina, but found nothing. On Halloween night in Orange County, Florida, a family was attacked by a group of 20 people wearing clown and The Purge masks, resulting in injuries.
Despite the hysteria, many of the reported clown sightings were found to be YouTube pranks or false reports. Clowns themselves have expressed fears for their own safety due to reported attacks and sightings. The release of the IT remake has raised further concerns among professional clowns that it will further harm their reputation, which has been tarnished by Stephen King's IT since its release in 1986.
[1] The Washington Post, "The creepy clown craze is real, and it's spreading quickly", October 11, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/10/11/the-creepy-clown-craze-is-real-and-its-spreading-quickly/ [2] BBC News, "Clown sightings: The creepy craze spreading across the US", October 12, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37592620
The resurgence of the creepy clown craze in 2016 can be linked to the upcoming release of the IT remake, a movie that portrays clowns as objects of fear and contributes to the negative impact on the image of professional clowns in the realm of entertainment and pop-culture. The clown hysteria, which escalated with social media trends and negative press, was amplified by the portrayal of clowns in movies like Stephen King's IT, reaffirming the fear and fascination with clowns in movies-and-tv and popular culture.
