As Halloween approaches, people somewhat expect to see spooky decorations and attractions around their area. However, no one ever expects to see a live person dressed as a clown walking around and scaring people. Starting in Wisconsin and the Carolinas, people dressed as clowns have been reported as jumping out of the woods and chasing children down the street. This craze rapidly spread across the country and there began to be reported sightings of these clowns in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. Schools started issuing lockdowns and kept children in from recess in areas where there had been reported sightings. Some people in the affected areas were apprehensive to even leave their houses at night.

Not too long after, the craze hit social media and immediately blew up entirely. People around the country decided that they wanted to join the newest obsession and start dressing up as these clowns in order to scare others. New sightings were rapidly popping up, even in places like England, Canada, and Australia. After all, all someone would need to do is purchase a clown mask at a local dollar store. Despite the past fear in some areas, this craze soon became a kind of joke to social media. Trying to incite some laughs, social media users started to film videos of them being “attacked by clowns.” Others “vlogged” their experiences walking at night, wanting creepy clown might attack him or her, so they could get more views on their videos.

Interestingly enough, this clown obsession has professional, harmless clowns very upset. Due to all of the hysteria, an innocent performing clown would be mistaken as a dangerous one and the police would be notified. Professional clowns make a living off of doing what they do, and now, no one will hire clowns for something like a child’s birthday party. According to a Fox43 article, Jordan Jones (Snuggles the Clown) has been a clown since he was a teenager. He says, “Everyone took this as a joke but it’s really become serious now, and I just want all these teenagers to know that it’s not a game anymore. You’re ruining my job and other actors around the world.” Despite all of the publicity that genuine clowns could receive, this new craze has badly damaged their careers.

Throughout the craze, there was a very common misconception that these clowns were physically harming their victims. No one was ever actually harmed or touched by one of the clowns in any way. The sensation led to many probably false reports, there were many rumors about clowns with knives and swords, but this was never proven to be correct. Although the craze is slowly calming down, there is no doubt that it will spark up again on Halloween Night, October 31.