Police in South Carolina have recently stated that clowns will be arrested on sight. Numerous calls were received in Greenville County about clowns persuading children to go into the woods. Earlier in the week, there were sightings of clowns carrying machetes in North Carolina, as well as reports of clowns loitering about apartment complexes across the country, according to USA Today.
There have been quite a few reports over the years about deviant looking clown-impersonators and their very unamusing proclivity for activities like, terrifying residents, stalking women, and luring children. The mere and sudden presence of one of these random farceurs; perhaps standing in the middle of a street while you’re driving down the road or maybe walking in front of your children’s school handing candy to children out of a filthy pillowcase, is enough to unnerve parents and residents and cause them to call the police. However, in many other cases, these clowns are in fact committing crimes and living up to the evil persona described by Steven King and other horror spoofs, in many novels and films.
Have the “Phantom” Clowns returned?
Often thought to be a hoax, clown-society crime is one of the most stupefying caboodles to ever pervade the western hemisphere. For example, in the autumn of 2014, a rash of clown assaults broke out in Southern France. Clowns wielding knives, pistols, and baseball bats began attacking people in various parts of the country. Many were robbed and beaten, and one passerby was clubbed with an iron bar 30 times, by what was described as a youngster dressed as a clown. Something similar happened in the Boston area in 1981, called The Phantom Clown Scare, in which clowns were reportedly endangering the safety of children and attempting to lure them into vans.
Warning to Clowns
Greenville County police want people to know that wearing a mask in public over the age of 16 in South Carolina, is a violation of state law. It is considered a means of concealing one’s identity. The French mayor of Vendargues, the site of the 2014 attacks, was also compelled to issue a ban on all clown costumery. Feel free to contact police if you should turn around one day and realize that a terrifying Harlequin is following you home.