Matt O’Connor
Clowns have always been a common phobia for many. But no one could’ve expected what happened during the Halloween season in 2016, A bizarre trend popped up seemingly out of nowhere where people began masquerading as clowns that weren’t exactly family friends. All across the United States and even outside of it, people were terrified to be outside during the night out of fear that these clowns would give them a good scare and chase them down. But what many people don’t know is how this whole trend began. What caused this strange phenomenon that took the Halloween festivities of 2016 by storm?
How It Started
The earliest known reports of evil clown sightings originated during the month of August in Green Bay, but these sightings were actually just part of a promotional stunt. After the initial reports of a clown roaming in Green Bay began to spread, a Facebook post was put out claiming that this clown was named “Gags”. It turns out that this clown’s sudden appearance was to promote an upcoming short film of the same name. But this was only the beginning of the sudden increase in unnerving clown sightings. Other clowns began to pop up across the Carolinas in late August, with the phenomenon even spreading to other countries like the United Kingdom and New Zealand. It got to the point where almost every state had some kind of evil clown causing trouble for the locals.
The Negative Impacts
While most of the evil clowns that popped up stood under streetlights and chased people around. They didn’t directly hurt anybody at first. But soon enough, the clowns took things too far. By the end of the clown craze, 12 individuals that were dressed up as these malicious clowns were arrested. Sadly, a 16 year old boy from Reading, Pennsylvania lost his life after being stabbed during an incident involving an assailant wearing a clown mask. After the tragedy, clowns began to become frowned upon by the general public. McDonald’s decided to remove Ronald McDonald from the majority of its marketing, some families in Florida went trick or treating armed in case of any potential clown attacks. To top it all off, the World Clown Association put out a statement that they were disturbed and disheartened by the sightings and that their roles as clown performers were no longer seen as entertaining, but frightening. While there were reports of a massive clown related “purge” that would happen the night before Halloween, no event of this magnitude ever came to be.
Eight Years Later
While it was terrifying in the moment, the mass hysteria caused by the evil clowns of 2016 has been all but forgotten. Of course, clowns would continue to further escalate into staples of horror with movies such as “It” being released after the bizarre trend’s conclusion. Although the tales of these clowns have largely disappeared from the public consciousness, the sightings and attacks still left a substantial and nearly global impact on how people viewed these once comically enjoyable characters.
