A few weeks ago Facebook, among other social media and news outlets, was swarmed with the news that people wearing clown masks had been seen lurking in the woods of a small South Carolina town. These clowns allegedly have been attempting to lure young children into the woods, which, has a lot of people, especially parents, feeling on edge. Unfortunately, weeks later, these creepy clowns hasn't gone away but instead have spread along the east coast. Every day there are new stories circulating of alleged clown spotting and attacks. What were once considered fun additions to children's birthday parties are now subjects of widespread fear across the country.
The most interesting thing, however, about these sightings is that there seems to be a lack of actual proof of whether or not this fiasco is real or whether it all just began as one big hoax. It seemed as though these clowns were mysteriously nowhere in sight when authorities were called and went looking for them. Even Penn State's recent famous "clown-hunt" was proven unsuccessful in the actual tracking down of the clowns themselves. Further complicating the issue, there were even adults who reported clown activity that later admitted to their previous claims having been false. While I'm sure some of the cases are legitimate, these false claims further complicate the issue.
So let's assume the photos spreading all over the media are real and that the reports, disregarding those proven false, are true. We are still faced with a major problem in combating the issue. The very nature of wearing a costume makes it very difficult to track down the individual. It could be almost anyone behind that mask or under all that face-paint. How can we put a stop to these people if the police can't seem to get there in time and it's nearly impossible to identify the individuals in mediocre photographs? This idea of wearing a disguise while committing a crime is definitely not new, but it definitely complicates stopping the issue, especially when there are so many of these clowns all over the country.
People have now even taken to the Internet, using Twitter and other social media platforms, to target specific areas and even specific schools. They have even started stirring up problems on college campuses across the country. Some of the clown-related threats have even come from children. This has become extremely concerning to parents, students and faculty, especially with schools having been such a target in recent years for shooting massacres. Imagine one of these killers arriving at the school dressed in a creepily happy clown suit and with an army of other clowns to act as reinforcement.
But, regardless of whether or not every single one of the claims are true, these incidents have been happening way too close to home to take any chances. We are definitely experiencing a seriously concerning problem, especially as we are approaching Halloween. Imagine walking down the street to a Halloween party on Halloween weekend and you see a large group of kids dressed up. One member of the large group is dressed up as a creepy clown, which is not an unheard of costume for Halloween. Now imagine that this is a killer clown who has used Halloween as an excuse to blend in and go unnoticed. No one knows who the clowns are in their fully elaborate costumes. They could easily sneak into parties with intentions very different from those of other attendees.
With rumors constantly circulating of potential plans for a Purge-related showdown on Halloween, it is more important now more than ever that we are prepared. It is impossible to know whether there is truth to these sightings at this time. What we do know is that there is a group of people working together in some way in order to make these clown appearances keep happening, and there must be a lot of them because they've covered a lot of ground. With that type of powerful networking there's no telling what they're capable of carrying out, especially when many of the clown incidents have included weapons. It's obvious they are up to something and it won't be anything good. Even if there is no actual attack it wouldn't surprise me if people's paranoia caused a few problems on its own. This year's Halloween could very quickly become very dangerous or even deadly.
People need to be especially aware of their surroundings as we approach this Halloween. Be alert when out at night and try staying in areas near other people. Since this has become such a widespread phenomena, it would not surprise me if people decided to dress up as clowns just to be "funny". This could end up backfiring, however, because there are many people who have made it very clear they are not afraid to fight back and attack the clowns; and on a day like Halloween when you can't tell anyone's identity, this may create serious issues. It will definitely be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I wouldn't be surprised if more police were patrolling the streets and clown costumes were banned in certain places given recent events. But even so what is stopping them from agreeing on another costume to carry out their mischief in? Make sure you're aware of whose around you when you're out this Halloween; the person in the mask that's been hanging around your group all night may not be who you thought it was.
