You walk into a carnival and you see a clown blowing up balloon animals and giving them out to children. But, that is not how we see clowns these days. Around the country people have been agitated by clown sightings. These have been hoaxes to actual events. Schools have had warnings sent out and some clowns have been arrested for these eerie events. Even the master of creepy, Stephen King, wanted to calm people down.
“Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria--most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.”
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 3, 2016
In the past, there have been reports of people who saw “phantom” clowns. Most of them were pranks and hoaxes. Some clowns have been arrested for making threats, and one for chasing a child with a baseball bat! However, these clown sightings might just be for viral marketing. One extremely scary clown video was exposed for marketing for a local haunted house.
Psychology is also a factor in why clowns scare us. Clowns have been known for being creepy and weird. Clowns can also be a fear factor for us. Think about all of those creepy and weird nightmares or fears you have had. There have also been many recent events that have been terrorizing and life taking. These events could make these clown sightings even scarier.
These clown encounters could also be a social media trend. When you scroll through your Instagram and look up clowns, you might find the hashtag #IfISeeAClown. Some pictures and videos are completely unbelievable and hilarious, while others are creepy and scary.
Though the rational part of our brain might think this is just absurdity, when someone actually gets arrested for this, we might actually start to believe it. So if you see a clown, remember there is a person underneath all of that face paint and tacky clothing.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/health/creepy-clowns-rumors-trnd/index.html