Residents of South Carolina will definitely be sleeping with one eye open as reports of creepy clowns continue to rise. Contrary to what it may seem, this is not some sick joke straight out of American Horror Story (although as a college student in South Carolina I sure wish it was).
Children in the Greenville area have reported to police that groups of clowns have been attempting to lure them into the woods using money. (I'm glad that I was never presented with this option as a child because due to my lack of allowance and affinity for shopping I surely would have gone with them). Now you're probably thinking that children have wild imaginations and could easily just be making the clowns up. However, a woman from the same area also reported seeing a clown late at night who was waving at her from under a street light. In my opinion, though, the most horrifying part of this sighting is that the woman told police she waved back. Why would you do that?! Needless to say, the clowns are causing growing concern among citizens-- although police have no definitive evidence aside from eye-witness accounts.
Another sighting involved a teenage girl who told officials she saw someone taking photos of children, and then immediately after saw a man with a clown mask emerging from the woods. Im not sure what the correlation is between the clowns and woodland areas, but I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend people stay out of those places.
Furthermore, a young girl's parents contacted local police after their daughter told them she saw clowns near a playground in the woods (surprise surprise). This apparently took place between Pleasant Valley and Hughes Middle School, and police are assuring people that they will be increasing their patrols.
These clown sightings have even infiltrated college campuses-- causing a frenzy among students. Although many of the campuses have sent out letters stating that the clown accusations are nothing more than rumors, there have been reports at York College of Pennsylvania, Auburn University, and even Georgia College.
So what do we make of all this information? Well, I can tell you one thing. I will not be caught dead anywhere near a particularly wooded/creepy/isolated area in the near future. Whether these disturbing sightings are true or false, it's hard not to get caught up in the odd nature of it all. Anyone who was planning on dressing up as a clown for Halloween better put away their oversized shoes and red nose for good unless they want to be chased around the neighborhood by a mob of angry parents. Needless to say, all this clowning around needs to stop, because I assure you there is nothing funny about it.
