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🤡 2016 - Year Of The Clowns🤡

Creepy clown epidemic plagued the United States.

By Rebecca Lynn IveyPublished 2 years ago • Updated 2 years ago • 3 min read
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2016 - Authorities were angrily combing the streets looking for dangerous cosplayers dressed as clowns who were terrifying towns, neighborhoods and rural areas alike. People (and clowns) were being attacked and sneaky pranksters all around the United States were going to jail. Clown costumes were being banned and removed from stores. Schools were sending letters to parents addressing the increasing fear over clowns. It was clear the nation had a serious clown problem on its hands.

Reports of creepy clowns lurking around neighborhoods had come in from numerous states including Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and by late September, a man had actually been arrested in Kentucky for lurking near apartments in a clown get-up.

Things escalated when two schools were closed in Ohio after a woman reported being attacked by a clown, who then threatened students. In Pennsylvania a 16-year-old boy in possession of a clown mask was brutally stabbed and killed. In Wisconsin a woman and her child were forced off of the roadway by a car filled with evil clowns.

Creepy, red balloons were being tied to fences, mailboxes, poles and yes, sewer drains. In Florida strange stuffed animals were mysteriously showing up on front porches. Similar events began popping up all over the United States (and sometimes in other countries). Everything bad and wrong was being blamed on the clowns.

Warnings like this one from Pennsylvania Real-Time News were being posted everywhere:

Anyone who sees an individual dressed as a clown on their property or walking along county roads is asked to immediately call troopers and not interact with the person, police said. "The public is advised to use restraint and allow the police to handle the situation."

It's called Coulrophobia - the term given for people with an excessive fear of clowns. Although it's a rare phobia, many people find clowns creepy if not downright scary. The excessive fear of clowns can cause panic, irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, sweating, and nausea. It’s also more common in children than adults.

Suddenly people all over the place began colorfully painting their faces only to haunt our nightmares and scare us "silly". Clowns are the classic wolf in sheep's clothing - ripe material for nightmares.

Clearly, the cultural perception of clowns has changed from Baby Boomers raised on Bozo the Clown to a new generation scared to death by Stephen King's Pennywise the Clown from "It." During Halloween folks really enjoy playing on this factuality and clowns begin showing themselves everywhere we look.

What Do You Think About Clowns?

While some have a serious phobia of clowns, a fair number of people have a “healthy apprehension” of them.

I for one found the creepy clown epidemic fun and exciting. My kids and I would drive around late at night in hopes of spotting a dark, uncanny clown lurking in the shadows. Was we scared? Of course, it was Halloween and being scared was all a part of the fun. It was like driving through a real-life spook house, waiting for the ultimate jump scare.

We actually did find one spooky clown standing on the side of the road waving at passing cars. I was unable to capture a photograph or recording of the experience. When we went back, the mischievous, evil clown was gone.

Overall, taking everything into account, I believe that the clown epidemic was mostly fun and thrills. Although, I read articles and watched news reports where it had truly got out of hand on occasion.

There is a big difference in standing in the shadows, giving people a good seasonal scare and actually chasing them down the road with a hatchet in your hand. As with all good things, there will always be those few who go too far and ruin it for everyone.

But Where Did The Clowns Go?

It seems that practically overnight all of the clowns disappeared just as suddenly as they arrived. Almost instantaneously, all of the sightings and reports stopped - the clowns had vanished. I find this to be just as intimidating as the actual sightings.

"Like a ghost in the night, it's here and then it's gone."

The sudden evacuation of clowns left us scratching our heads and wondering just exactly why the clown occult appeared all over the country so suddenly and then vanished just as quickly.

🤡 A cabal secret group of evildoers?

🤡 Supernatural?

🤡 A secretly emerging totalitarian world government?

🤡 Aliens?

We may never know.........

psychological
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About the Creator

Rebecca Lynn Ivey

I wield words to weave tales across genres, but my heart belongs to the shadows.

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