Clowns: comic entertainers, typically in a circus, wearing a traditional costume and exaggerated makeup. Now, most of this definition is true lately besides the part where they are comic entertainers in a circus. All throughout the country, clowning has been occurring.
According to The Guardian, the first sighting was in South Carolina, and it was not for jokes or entertainment, and I can assure you that. A young boy had seen clowns in the woods near his apartment complex. Sounds strange right? Well, it gets worse. They tried getting the boy to go with them so they could kidnap him, but thank goodness the boy ran back to his apartment to his mother. After this incident, apparently it went viral and from the South, it traveled to the North. Now, not all the clowns are clowning for the same exact reason, but their main goals tend to be the same--scaring people, and it is definitely working. There has been anonymous pages created on Twitter and Instagram by people claiming their “clowns” and trying to tell people where they are going or who their next victims are. These anonymous clowns are almost impossible to identify without catching them and they have been either frightening civilians or actually injuring, hurting or the damaging the victim's possessions.
After some time now, it has become quite out of hand and some individuals are actually getting angry with the whole situation. There have been various videos posted on multiple websites and social media accounts where mobs are attacking these clowns. They have begun calling it, “ clown hunting,” and quite frankly, it is scaring some of the clowns, but they still continue to do what they have been doing all over the country to make a statement. Police throughout different counties have decided to arrest any individual they see walking the streets for no reason in a clown suit. Whether it is just a prank on someone or the real thing, there will be consequences.
Now, for me, my biggest fear is that Halloween is making it’s way over and is happening in only a few weeks. People seem to forget that clowns are a Halloween costume. I have a feeling this year, we will be seeing a lot more clowns then usual, which may not sound like a big deal but it can actually be very dangerous. The problem is though, even though all the clowns may not be bad on this day, we have no idea who is who. This person could be dressed up as a Halloween costume or part of this crazy clowning crisis that is occurring. I find it quite amazing how this type of event can go viral so quickly without these individuals who think it is funny finding it to be detrimental to the young kids all over the country. Hopefully, all we can do is hope nothing serious happens when Halloween comes and the clowns mellow out. Unfortunately, I don't see this happening, but might as well hope.
Please, all people minors, adults, seniors and even pets, be careful and aware of this epidemic which is affecting so many people’s lives every single day. Stay safe, be smart and enjoy your Halloween.
