Killer Clowns of America

By Elizabeth Craven, Senior

October 18, 2016

The “Creepy Clowns” have been all over the news and social media displaying threatening videos of clowns chasing people while wielding a weapon. There have been numerous police calls alerting the police about the clowns. These clowns have struck terror into the vast majority of the United States, causing schools to lock down and the prohibition of wearing clown costumes in certain areas. This nation wide cause of panic has spread to Australia, Canada, and the UK where young teenagers and adults have been seen dressing up as clowns to spook passersby.

This sickening form of amusement originated from South Carolina, where children had reported clowns trying to lure them into a forest. The children ran inside the apartment next to the forest to call 911. Clown sightings soon spread rapidly throughout the United States, causing many people to fear for their life whenever the walked outside their homes. Schools and hospitals have sent out warnings of clowns.

There is no actual evidence that a clown has harmed or kidnapped anyone. This is shown in the article “Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Clown Attack’ Craze.” The sightings are powered by humans natural fear for the unknown. The media is partially to blame for this uproar. Many people only know of the “Creepy Clowns” because of videos found all over the internet. The clowns run people down and sometimes attacking the car they are inside. None of the victims are actually seen being attacked because the video cuts off before it happens or the people being chased drive away. So of course the question is brought up; are all of these attacks real or are they a hoax?

There is only a slight possibility for a clown cult running around America chasing people down and “slaughtering” them with fake weapons. This isn’t the first time America has dealt with clowns. In the 1980’s phantom clowns in Boston also tried to lure children into a van with candy and toys. The rest of the story is described in the article “The Creepy Mystery of the Phantom Clowns.” Since then, many clown sightings have been reported during the month of halloween. This year has gotten the most attention and increase in sightings.

It has gotten to a point where the clowns dressing up have a higher risk of getting hurt than the people spotting them. Mass clown hunts have been arranged around the nation. In Sydney, Australia, a video of a man assaulting a clown was recorded. The man got out of his vehicle after he had spotted a clown who was holding a baseball bat. The man was fairly large and intimidated the clown. The clown put down the bat and started to back away, but the man continued to strike him.

Clowns tend to terrify people at all ages. Fear of clowns have been developed by the extreme emotions painted over an unknown face, hiding what's truly underneath. There has always been the fear of the unknown which has affected many historical events and cultures. Movies and books play a big role in creating this fear as well, from the serial killer Pennywise, created by Stephen King’s book It, to the psychopath of DC comics, the Joker. Clowns originally were meant for light comedy until stories and movies turned them into a symbol of fear. Now people have gone to the extreme to pulverise the original intention of clowns, turning them into a monster like figure. However, like every Scooby Doo episode, there is always a man under the mask.