- The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 28, 2016

The red fright wig. The stark white makeup. The greasepaint smile. What’s scarier than a clown? Spotting one in the woods.

Creepy clown sightings in more than 10 states have been giving police departments fits as they investigate recent reports of costumed cutups lurking near apartment buildings, standing on street corners or driving around in groups trying to lure children.

Some reports — like those by several children in Annapolis last week — have been hoaxes. Some have been mistakes, like that of a Virginia boy trying out a Halloween costume this week.

And others have been off-putting, to say the least.

Two Nashville area high schools were placed on lockout Wednesday when reports of a clown in the area spread on social media. Ameerah Palacios, a school district spokeswoman, said classes continued as normal but exterior doors were locked and limited traffic was allowed in and out of the schools.

A day earlier, a mother and daughter captured a “creepy clown” leering at them from a nearby car in Henrico County, Virginia. However, the mother of a 12-year-old boy with autism said the clown was actually her son, who is a fan of the Stephen King horror novel “It” and recently got a Pennywise costume for Halloween.

(Some have speculated that the clown sightings are part of a marketing stunt for a theatrical remake of the 1990 TV miniseries based on the novel. Cathy Nam, a spokeswoman for New Line Cinema, said the studio is “absolutely not involved” in the sightings. “It” is scheduled to be released next September.)

In the days before the Henrico County sighting, the surrounding area had received several clown-related threats on social media. “Clowns of Midlo” posted a list of neighborhoods on Instagram and warned residents not to come out after dark. Investigators identified a 13-year-old boy who they believe created the Instagram account.

On Saturday, police in Middlesboro, Kentucky, arrested a man wearing a clown mask and costume who was crouching near a wooded area by an apartment complex. He was charged with wearing a mask in a public place.

Police Chief James F. Cummings of Paw Paw, West Virginia, plastered his town with a blunt notice for potential pranksters: “It is plain stupid to do this.”

“If someone sees you dressed like this they have the right to defend themselves,” Chief Cummings warned. “It is not normal for clowns to be running around like idiots all year long. I will stand behind anyone who feels they need to protect themselves from these so-called clowns”

Both law enforcement and professional clown organizations say it’s time for the clowning around to come to an end.

Pam Moody, president elect of the World Clown Association, says the recent outbreak “disappoints” and “deeply frustrates” the professional clown community.

“If you put a picture of the scary clown alongside one of a professional clown, there is really no resemblance,” said Ms. Moody. “Anyone could dress up like a doctor or a police officer and do scary things, but that doesn’t mean we assume all doctors and police officers are horrible, scary people.”

Tom Holland, a member of the Ali Ghan Shrine Club clown unit, told the Cumberland Times-News the group won’t participate in the Oct. 29 Mummers’ Parade in Hagerstown, Maryland, due to the sightings.

“We don’t intimidate or scare anybody,” Mr. Holland said.

Law enforcers have said they will treat seriously reports of clowns terrorizing schools, parks and neighborhoods. Anyone caught dressing up and trying to scare people or reporting false sightings will be charged.

• Julia Porterfield can be reached at jporterfield@washingtontimes.com.

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