The Creepy Clown Craze: Here’s What You Should Know
The creepy clowns scare has spread from the US, to UK and now Australia.
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The creepy clown sightings began in late summer this year in Greenville, South Carolina. The residents of Greenville reported that a person dressed in clown clothing was talking to children and trying to lure them into the woods.
Though the reports came from children, the police took the matter seriously and tightened security. But they weren’t able to spot any clowns in the area. A woman filed an FIR with the police the next day (on 21st Aug), explaining that “her sons had spotted two clowns in the woods whispering and making weird noises,” as reported by BuzzFeed News.
From 20 August to 1 September, there were three reported clown sightings in Greenville. The sightings started to scare people and the number of clown sightings have gone up since.
The sightings then spread to North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey, Idaho, etc. According to the New York Times, the creepy clown sightings led to 12 arrests in multiple states of the US, in connection to false reporting of such incidents.
Schools were shut in Ohio, for safety reasons, after a woman said that she was attacked by a man dressed as a clown. Other reports claimed that people saw clowns looking at them from vans or chasing people.
Two children in Georgia reportedly told the police that they were followed by men dressed in all black, clown masks and red wigs as they were walking to their bus at 6 am. This story was corroborated by a neighbour, also a child, who said she saw the clowns following the boys.
Why Are Creepy Clowns Creeping Up On People?
It is slightly comic-bookish to read about clowns jumping from behind windows to scare people.
However, the fact that these sightings have spread all over the US, then to the UK, and now Australia (there have been reports from the Netherlands too), make you wonder.
1. A viral marketing campaign
Could it be that this is just part of a campaign that we are not yet aware of? How else are clowns – creepy clowns at that – harassing people across continents at the same time? Halloween is close, you know.
2. A social media fad
After the first couple of sightings of these clowns, and thanks to the reach of social media, thousands of people were talking about this. It could just be that few people with twisted senses of humour thought it would be a good prank to play in their area.
3. Penny Wise inspires people again?
Stephen King’s famous horror novel, It, had a character Penny Wise, a dancing clown, who was the main antagonist of the story. Originally, the idea of “creepy clown” spread after his book. There were sightings in the 1990s as well, but they died out eventually.
Twitter is full of #KillerClowns
They could be real or they could be fake, but they are definitely hyping the matter.