Painted faces, red lips, colorful clothing, floppy shoes… If you haven’t personally witnessed America’s recent clown-sighting hysteria then consider yourself lucky… for now.
Coulrophobia - the excessive fear of clowns - actually isn’t as common of a phobia as pop culture has made it out to be; however, it isn’t false to say that a fair amount of people dislike clowns. In just 2014 alone, 43% of people reported that they do not like clowns... and for good reasons too.
Here are five real-life clown horror stories:
1. The Killer Clown
John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer and rapist who often volunteered his clown services to fundraising events, parades and children's birthday parties. Gacy was an established community leader and was even awarded “Man of the Year” in Springfield, IL. Little did everyone know that this man would actually become the Killer Clown who would lure, sexually abuse and murder at least 33 boys in just a six-year period. The Killer Clown brought his victims into his house by deception or force, and though he pleads his first murder was just an accident, Gacy claims, “That’s when I realized that death was the ultimate thrill.” Gacy typically murdered these young boys by asphyxiation or strangulation, and disposed the majority of the victims’ bodies underneath his house while the rest were thrown into nearby rivers. The Killer Clown was sentenced to death in 1980 and executed in 1994.
2. Clowns d'horreur
Imagine 14 clowns heavily armed with pistols, knives and baseball bats chasing people down streets while maniacally laughing. In Oct. 2014, people in Adage, France didn’t have to imagine this as they were terrorized by these clowns. Later that month, a man dressed as a clown beat a man with an iron bar in Montpelier. Additionally, four clowns were caught terrorizing primary school children with a chainsaw in Liévin a few weeks before a teenager dressed as a clown chased down children with a long knife-looking stick.
3. Flowers and Balloons
In 1990, Marlene Warren opened her front door to find a clown holding a bouquet of red and white flowers and two balloons. The clown pulled out a gun and shot Warren directly in the face and escaped without a trace. Police speculated Warren’s husband and his mistress to be primary suspects, but the case still remains unsolved. The clown has yet to be found.
4. Say 'No' To Drugs
Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix was the leader of a notorious Mexican drug cartel gang, commonly known as the Tijuana Cartel, when he was shot at his birthday party by a man dressed as a clown with a bright wig and a red nose. The clown casually walked into the party and shot Felix in the chest and head before escaping. Video footage of the clown walking right in front of a party guest’s camera seconds before the shooting can be seen here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2493539/Vi...
5. The Phantom Clowns
In the 1980s and early ‘90s, there were numerous reports of clowns in large vans luring in children with candy in the Boston and Chicago areas. While people still recall seeing the vans of clowns, no clown was ever caught or identified. Some shake it off as a legend, but children and adults still claim to have seen these phantom clowns in both reality and their nightmares.
