Candis R. McLean
It started out as small blurbs in the press and creepy retweeted photos on your timeline. For months, people were posting posts of clown sightings, some were genuine and others, police departments rendered false. The insane concept varied in nature. Some residents close to the sightings stated they saw clowns in forest areas trying to lure children into the trees and others witnessed clowns out attempting to shock the masses in various locations. I remember seeing the stories initially and thinking “This is going to be a thing all the way through Halloween and it’s going to get dangerous”. With two weeks until the haunting and celebrated holiday, it appears these small and isolated occurrences have gained in number and frequency.
The sightings began as early as August in Greenville, South Carolina. The trend quickly spread to Canada, the UK, Australia, Latin America, and other countries. As recently as Friday, October 14th a man was stabbed multiple times by a clown masked attacker in Sweden. To this date, clown sightings have been reported in almost every state in the United States. School districts took initiative and began banning clown Halloween costumes in some areas. Many students have been suspended for posting online clown threats and some residents of various communities have been detained for similar actions. Even iconic American fast-food chain, McDonald’s has scaled back the appearances of their promotional titan Ronald McDonald. This global “killer clown” phenomena has many on edge and anxious about what Halloween night holds as the terror mounts.
Halloween sales are responsible for billions in revenue worldwide each year. The popular Halloween costume chain store Halloween Express stated to Eye Opener TV that “Clown mask sales are up more than 300%”. It’s apparent that the warnings by the police, the increased reports of attacks, and the uneasy public will not keep us from seeing those frightening disguises in the coming weeks. Clowns have always been a staple of the Halloween. The industry has created memorable figures in film, television, comics, and familial entertainment. The concealing masks will never cease to be peddled or purchased from stores, nor should they. This Halloween calls for increased awareness, intelligence, and alertness. Any person, in costume or not, can be a threat on such a popular and public holiday. Hopefully these incidents will fade and halt in the near future. If you’re a person thinking it might be amusing to scare people at this panicked time with your new purchase, just save your money. When you’re that much of a fool, a clown mask isn’t needed.