Creepy Clown Sightings! 5 Facts You Need to Know
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VOICE OVER: Matthew Wende
Written by Sean Harris
Creepy clown sightings have fear gripping neighbourhoods across America and around the world. WatchMojo presents WatchMojo News, and in this weeks current events, we've got 5 Facts you need to know about the spree of killer clowns. Should you be worried? Are your children in danger? Are you still going trick-or-treating for Halloween? Watch to find out all the information you need!
Watch on Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7OpIh5wc_A
Creepy clown sightings have fear gripping neighbourhoods across America and around the world. WatchMojo presents WatchMojo News, and in this weeks current events, we've got 5 Facts you need to know about the spree of killer clowns. Should you be worried? Are your children in danger? Are you still going trick-or-treating for Halloween? Watch to find out all the information you need!
Watch on Our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7OpIh5wc_A
It’s a story that appears to be fresh from the circus, except that it’s the stuff of nightmares. Welcome to WatchMojo News, the weekly series from WatchMojo.com where we break down news stories that might be on your radar. In this instalment, we’re counting down 5 crucial facts you should know about the clown sightings.
#5: What Is This Terrifying Trend?
The 2016 clown sightings are a series of incidents in which unknown individuals dressed as ‘evil’ and intimidating clowns appear in public, seemingly at random. These are not professional comic performers or circus clowns who use physical comedy as part of the performance art though. According to multiple reports, the people donning clown attire scare or threaten passers-by, sometimes chase their targets and are sometimes armed. The trend started in the US in August 2016, with the first logged sighting in South Carolina sparking copycat cases in other states. Since then, the craze has spread into a global phenomenon, with clown sightings reported in Canada, Australia and the UK. While not every clown has been linked to criminal activity, robberies, assaults and school invasions have all been committed by people in clown costumes. The sightings have sparked fear among parents in particular, as children are often targeted by clowns attempting to lure them away. News coverage of genuine cases has sparked a series of hoax clown sightings as well, with false or scripted videos proving increasingly popular on social media.
#4: How Has the Public Responded to the Clowns?
Minor hysteria has spread across America and into other affected countries as the sightings threaten to snowball out of control. Schools have been closed and local areas put on lockdown amidst rumors of imminent clown attacks, while some local authorities have labelled the clown costume as a ‘symbol of terror’ – a development which has caused considerable problems for the law-abiding clown community. As police investigations continue in the US, there have also been instances of the public taking matters into their own hands. After reports of ‘killer clowns’ on campus, students at Penn State University took to the streets in the hundreds brandishing improvised weapons such as golf clubs in an attempt to respond to the threat. In some states, so-called ‘clown hunts’ are now more common than the clown sightings which triggered them, and there are fears that increasing anxiety could cause further problems as vigilante groups become larger and more difficult to police.
#3: Why Are People Dressing Like Clowns?
The sudden trend is shrouded in some mystery, with authorities unable to find a firm reason for it. Links have been made to the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” – which features the killer clown character, Pennywise – but filmmakers deny rumors of a publicity stunt, and the movie isn’t due for release until September 2017 regardless. Comparisons might also be made with “The Purge: Election Year”, which opened in theaters in July 2016. The phenomenon has been labelled an example of the ‘snowball effect’, in which something small is copied and extended until it becomes something bigger, and the sightings have led to discussions on exactly why clowns can be so terrifying in the first place. Many psychologists agree that clowns are scary because of the unknown and how they appear practically human – but with something slightly off. And unlike other villains and monsters, clowns are real people in disguise - but it can prove impossible to recognise the person, or their intentions, beneath heavy make-up or a mask that completely covers their faces, which makes them creepy to us. According to reports, some of these 2016 sightings have involved someone dressed as a clown and standing still, simply looking at people with no other aggressive or intimidating movement. In these cases, the fear factor comes from the strangeness of the situation, and the feeling of being caught up in what has been branded a ‘clown epidemic’. As previously mentioned, however, it’s also important to note that the “clowns” involved here aren’t circus clowns or performers who do this for a living
#2: Is This Just a Trend, or a Serious Problem?
The police face several major difficulties in dealing with the clown sightings. With increased public and media attention put onto any potential clown incident, the number of hoax cases is expected to rise. And as more and more copycat pranksters emerge, it becomes harder to differentiate severe threats from on-trend ‘jokes’. It has also proven tough to determine exactly when a crime has been committed in some cases, when clowns do not engage in any recognised criminal activity. The authorities must also decide what to do with anyone found to have faked a clown sighting. With rules and stances differing from state to state, country to country, an illegal clown is sometimes proving difficult to define. The 2016 sightings are not the first of their kind, however. America was previously gripped by a spate of scary clowns in 1981, when various sightings and harassment instances occurred throughout the country. Since the early ‘80s, creepy clowns have appeared on occasion in unexpected areas, but usually in isolation. But the 2016 sightings have captured global attention, spreading further, faster than ever before – thanks, in large part, to social media coverage. While arrests have been made and police patrols increased in some areas, reports suggest that the majority of clowns still evade capture. It’s not known whether there is an underlying connection between individual sightings, but there are concerns that the situation could get out of hand with potentially violent consequences.
#1: What’s Next for the Creepy Clown Fad?
For local authorities and the increasingly anxious public, the hope is that the clowns will quietly disappear, and many analysts expect they will, eventually. As the police make it more difficult for casual pranksters to go out scaring, the number of clown sightings could fall and the trend could be quashed. However, with Halloween on the horizon, it may be sometime before that happens. One theory on the clown epidemic says that it is an ‘alternate reality game’. Given the traction that clown sightings have online and the potential for footage – real or faked – to be seen by millions, interest in, and fear of, this ‘other world’ could continue for as long as creepy clowns go uncaptured and unidentified. While the police seek out the scarers, the frenzy already created by them could prove a longer-lasting problem.
#5: What Is This Terrifying Trend?
The Clowns
The 2016 clown sightings are a series of incidents in which unknown individuals dressed as ‘evil’ and intimidating clowns appear in public, seemingly at random. These are not professional comic performers or circus clowns who use physical comedy as part of the performance art though. According to multiple reports, the people donning clown attire scare or threaten passers-by, sometimes chase their targets and are sometimes armed. The trend started in the US in August 2016, with the first logged sighting in South Carolina sparking copycat cases in other states. Since then, the craze has spread into a global phenomenon, with clown sightings reported in Canada, Australia and the UK. While not every clown has been linked to criminal activity, robberies, assaults and school invasions have all been committed by people in clown costumes. The sightings have sparked fear among parents in particular, as children are often targeted by clowns attempting to lure them away. News coverage of genuine cases has sparked a series of hoax clown sightings as well, with false or scripted videos proving increasingly popular on social media.
#4: How Has the Public Responded to the Clowns?
The Fear
Minor hysteria has spread across America and into other affected countries as the sightings threaten to snowball out of control. Schools have been closed and local areas put on lockdown amidst rumors of imminent clown attacks, while some local authorities have labelled the clown costume as a ‘symbol of terror’ – a development which has caused considerable problems for the law-abiding clown community. As police investigations continue in the US, there have also been instances of the public taking matters into their own hands. After reports of ‘killer clowns’ on campus, students at Penn State University took to the streets in the hundreds brandishing improvised weapons such as golf clubs in an attempt to respond to the threat. In some states, so-called ‘clown hunts’ are now more common than the clown sightings which triggered them, and there are fears that increasing anxiety could cause further problems as vigilante groups become larger and more difficult to police.
#3: Why Are People Dressing Like Clowns?
The Phenomenon
The sudden trend is shrouded in some mystery, with authorities unable to find a firm reason for it. Links have been made to the upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” – which features the killer clown character, Pennywise – but filmmakers deny rumors of a publicity stunt, and the movie isn’t due for release until September 2017 regardless. Comparisons might also be made with “The Purge: Election Year”, which opened in theaters in July 2016. The phenomenon has been labelled an example of the ‘snowball effect’, in which something small is copied and extended until it becomes something bigger, and the sightings have led to discussions on exactly why clowns can be so terrifying in the first place. Many psychologists agree that clowns are scary because of the unknown and how they appear practically human – but with something slightly off. And unlike other villains and monsters, clowns are real people in disguise - but it can prove impossible to recognise the person, or their intentions, beneath heavy make-up or a mask that completely covers their faces, which makes them creepy to us. According to reports, some of these 2016 sightings have involved someone dressed as a clown and standing still, simply looking at people with no other aggressive or intimidating movement. In these cases, the fear factor comes from the strangeness of the situation, and the feeling of being caught up in what has been branded a ‘clown epidemic’. As previously mentioned, however, it’s also important to note that the “clowns” involved here aren’t circus clowns or performers who do this for a living
#2: Is This Just a Trend, or a Serious Problem?
The Hysteria
The police face several major difficulties in dealing with the clown sightings. With increased public and media attention put onto any potential clown incident, the number of hoax cases is expected to rise. And as more and more copycat pranksters emerge, it becomes harder to differentiate severe threats from on-trend ‘jokes’. It has also proven tough to determine exactly when a crime has been committed in some cases, when clowns do not engage in any recognised criminal activity. The authorities must also decide what to do with anyone found to have faked a clown sighting. With rules and stances differing from state to state, country to country, an illegal clown is sometimes proving difficult to define. The 2016 sightings are not the first of their kind, however. America was previously gripped by a spate of scary clowns in 1981, when various sightings and harassment instances occurred throughout the country. Since the early ‘80s, creepy clowns have appeared on occasion in unexpected areas, but usually in isolation. But the 2016 sightings have captured global attention, spreading further, faster than ever before – thanks, in large part, to social media coverage. While arrests have been made and police patrols increased in some areas, reports suggest that the majority of clowns still evade capture. It’s not known whether there is an underlying connection between individual sightings, but there are concerns that the situation could get out of hand with potentially violent consequences.
#1: What’s Next for the Creepy Clown Fad?
The Boiling Point
For local authorities and the increasingly anxious public, the hope is that the clowns will quietly disappear, and many analysts expect they will, eventually. As the police make it more difficult for casual pranksters to go out scaring, the number of clown sightings could fall and the trend could be quashed. However, with Halloween on the horizon, it may be sometime before that happens. One theory on the clown epidemic says that it is an ‘alternate reality game’. Given the traction that clown sightings have online and the potential for footage – real or faked – to be seen by millions, interest in, and fear of, this ‘other world’ could continue for as long as creepy clowns go uncaptured and unidentified. While the police seek out the scarers, the frenzy already created by them could prove a longer-lasting problem.
