[Music]
it’s a story that appears to be fresh
from the circus except that it’s the
stuff of nightmares Oh welcome to
watchmojo.com where we break down news
stories that might be on your radar it
seems as if a new report of a
threatening clown pops up by the hour in
this installment we’re counting down
five crucial facts you should know about
the clown sightings ELISA they say they
are taking this matter very seriously
and are stepping up patrols in the area
for now number five what is this
terrifying trend and then an exciting
was like 30 kids come up to me amidst
animist Islanders clowns in the blizzard
clowns and would the 2016 clown
sightings are a series of incidents in
which unknown individuals dressed as
evil and intimidating clowns appear in
public seemingly at random these are not
professional comic performers or circus
clowns who use physical comedy as part
of their performance art though
according to multiple reports the people
donning clown attire scare or threaten
passers-by sometimes chase their targets
and are sometimes armed and oh my god
mom I just was chased by clowns the
trend started in the u.s. in August 2016
with the first logged sighting in South
Carolina sparking copycat cases in other
states since then the craze has spread
into a global phenomenon with clown
sightings reported in Canada Australia
and the UK while not every clown has
been linked to criminal activity
robberies assaults and school invasions
have all been committed by people in
clown costumes the sightings have
sparked fear among parents in particular
as children are often targeted by clowns
attempting to lure them away news
coverage of genuine cases has sparked a
series of hoax clown sightings as well
with false or scripted videos proving
increasingly popular in social media
number four
how has the public responded to the
clown’s minor hysteria has spread across
America and into other affected
countries as the sightings threatened to
snowball out of control schools have
been closed and local areas put on
lockdown amidst rumors of imminent clown
attacks while some local authorities
have labeled the clown costume as a sim
of Terror a development which has caused
considerable problems for the
law-abiding clown community I then
flipped off I’ve been mooned I’ve had
trash thrown at my car as police
investigations continue in the u.s.
there have also been instances of the
public taking matters into their own
hands after reports of killer clowns on
campus students at Penn State University
took to the streets in the hundreds
brandishing improvised weapons such as
golf clubs in an attempt to respond to
the threat in some states the so-called
clown hunts are now more common than the
clown sightings which triggered them and
there are fears that increasing anxiety
could cause further problems as
vigilante groups become larger and more
difficult to police number three why are
people dressing like clowns we’re right
for this right now because of social
media which allows a fear to propagate
the sudden trend is shrouded in some
mystery links have been made to the
upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen
King’s it are you gonna say hello which
features a killer clown character penny
wise but filmmakers deny rumors of a
publicity stunt and the movie isn’t due
for release until September 2017
regardless comparisons might also be
made with the purge election year which
opened in theaters in July 2016 the
phenomenon has been labeled an example
of the snowball effect in which
something small is copied and extended
until it becomes something bigger and
the sightings have led to discussions on
exactly why clowns can be so terrifying
in the first place many psychologists
agree that clowns are scary because of
the unknown and how they appear
practically human but with something
slightly off and unlike other villains
and monsters clowns are real people in
disguise but it can prove impossible to
recognize the person or their intentions
beneath heavy makeup or a mask that
completely covers their face which makes
them creepy to us according to reports
some of these 2016 sightings have
involved someone dressed as a clown and
standing still simply looking at people
with no other aggressive or intimidating
movement in these cases the fear factor
comes from the strangeness of the
situation and the feeling of being
caught in what has been branded as a
clown epidemic as previously mentioned
however it’s also important to note that
the clown’s involved here aren’t circus
clowns or performers who do this for a
living number two is this just a trend
or a serious problem
the police faced several major
difficulties in dealing with the clown
sightings with increased public and
media attention put on to any potential
clown incident the number of hoax cases
is expected to rise and as more and more
copycat pranksters emerge it becomes
harder to differentiate between severe
threats and from on-trend jokes directed
with written it is also proven tough to
determine exactly when a crime is being
committed in some cases when clowns do
not engage in any recognized criminal
activity the authorities must also
decide what to do with anyone found to
affect a clown sighting with rules and
stances differing from state to state
and country to country
an illegal clown is sometimes proving
difficult to define the 2016 sightings
are not the first of their kind however
America was previously gripped by a
spate of clowns in 1981 when various
sightings and harassment instances
occurred throughout the country since
the early 80s
creepy clowns have appeared on occasion
in unexpected areas but usually in
isolation but the 2016 sightings have
captured global attention spreading
further and faster than ever before
thanks in large part to social media
coverage while arrests have been made
and police patrols increased in some
areas reports suggest that the majority
of clowns still evade capture it is not
known whether there is an underlying
connection between individual settings
but there are concerns that the
situation could get out of hand with
potentially violent consequences number
one what’s next for the creepy clown fad
I don’t know that the president has been
briefed on this particular situation for
local authorities and the increasingly
anxious public the hope is that the
clown’s will quietly disappear and many
analysts expect that they will
eventually as the police make it more
difficult for casual pranksters to go
out scaring the number of clown
sightings could fall and the trend could
be quashed
however with Halloween on the horizon it
may be some time before that happens
one theory on the clown epidemic says
that it is an alternate reality game
given the traction that clown sightings
have online and the potential for
footage real or faked to be seen by
millions interest in or fear of this
quote other world could continue for as
long as creepy clowns go uncaptured and
unidentified while the police seek out
the scares the frenzy already created by
them could prove a longer lasting
problem
did these facts get you thinking it is
not a crime to just be creepy to vote
for which new story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 5s published
every week they see a clown and he
appears to be acting erratic in a
location where you typically would not
see a clown you know to use precautions
[Music]
it’s a story that appears to be fresh
from the circus except that it’s the
stuff of nightmares Oh welcome to
watchmojo.com where we break down news
stories that might be on your radar it
seems as if a new report of a
threatening clown pops up by the hour in
this installment we’re counting down
five crucial facts you should know about
the clown sightings ELISA they say they
are taking this matter very seriously
and are stepping up patrols in the area
for now number five what is this
terrifying trend and then an exciting
was like 30 kids come up to me amidst
animist Islanders clowns in the blizzard
clowns and would the 2016 clown
sightings are a series of incidents in
which unknown individuals dressed as
evil and intimidating clowns appear in
public seemingly at random these are not
professional comic performers or circus
clowns who use physical comedy as part
of their performance art though
according to multiple reports the people
donning clown attire scare or threaten
passers-by sometimes chase their targets
and are sometimes armed and oh my god
mom I just was chased by clowns the
trend started in the u.s. in August 2016
with the first logged sighting in South
Carolina sparking copycat cases in other
states since then the craze has spread
into a global phenomenon with clown
sightings reported in Canada Australia
and the UK while not every clown has
been linked to criminal activity
robberies assaults and school invasions
have all been committed by people in
clown costumes the sightings have
sparked fear among parents in particular
as children are often targeted by clowns
attempting to lure them away news
coverage of genuine cases has sparked a
series of hoax clown sightings as well
with false or scripted videos proving
increasingly popular in social media
number four
how has the public responded to the
clown’s minor hysteria has spread across
America and into other affected
countries as the sightings threatened to
snowball out of control schools have
been closed and local areas put on
lockdown amidst rumors of imminent clown
attacks while some local authorities
have labeled the clown costume as a sim
of Terror a development which has caused
considerable problems for the
law-abiding clown community I then
flipped off I’ve been mooned I’ve had
trash thrown at my car as police
investigations continue in the u.s.
there have also been instances of the
public taking matters into their own
hands after reports of killer clowns on
campus students at Penn State University
took to the streets in the hundreds
brandishing improvised weapons such as
golf clubs in an attempt to respond to
the threat in some states the so-called
clown hunts are now more common than the
clown sightings which triggered them and
there are fears that increasing anxiety
could cause further problems as
vigilante groups become larger and more
difficult to police number three why are
people dressing like clowns we’re right
for this right now because of social
media which allows a fear to propagate
the sudden trend is shrouded in some
mystery links have been made to the
upcoming movie adaptation of Stephen
King’s it are you gonna say hello which
features a killer clown character penny
wise but filmmakers deny rumors of a
publicity stunt and the movie isn’t due
for release until September 2017
regardless comparisons might also be
made with the purge election year which
opened in theaters in July 2016 the
phenomenon has been labeled an example
of the snowball effect in which
something small is copied and extended
until it becomes something bigger and
the sightings have led to discussions on
exactly why clowns can be so terrifying
in the first place many psychologists
agree that clowns are scary because of
the unknown and how they appear
practically human but with something
slightly off and unlike other villains
and monsters clowns are real people in
disguise but it can prove impossible to
recognize the person or their intentions
beneath heavy makeup or a mask that
completely covers their face which makes
them creepy to us according to reports
some of these 2016 sightings have
involved someone dressed as a clown and
standing still simply looking at people
with no other aggressive or intimidating
movement in these cases the fear factor
comes from the strangeness of the
situation and the feeling of being
caught in what has been branded as a
clown epidemic as previously mentioned
however it’s also important to note that
the clown’s involved here aren’t circus
clowns or performers who do this for a
living number two is this just a trend
or a serious problem
the police faced several major
difficulties in dealing with the clown
sightings with increased public and
media attention put on to any potential
clown incident the number of hoax cases
is expected to rise and as more and more
copycat pranksters emerge it becomes
harder to differentiate between severe
threats and from on-trend jokes directed
with written it is also proven tough to
determine exactly when a crime is being
committed in some cases when clowns do
not engage in any recognized criminal
activity the authorities must also
decide what to do with anyone found to
affect a clown sighting with rules and
stances differing from state to state
and country to country
an illegal clown is sometimes proving
difficult to define the 2016 sightings
are not the first of their kind however
America was previously gripped by a
spate of clowns in 1981 when various
sightings and harassment instances
occurred throughout the country since
the early 80s
creepy clowns have appeared on occasion
in unexpected areas but usually in
isolation but the 2016 sightings have
captured global attention spreading
further and faster than ever before
thanks in large part to social media
coverage while arrests have been made
and police patrols increased in some
areas reports suggest that the majority
of clowns still evade capture it is not
known whether there is an underlying
connection between individual settings
but there are concerns that the
situation could get out of hand with
potentially violent consequences number
one what’s next for the creepy clown fad
I don’t know that the president has been
briefed on this particular situation for
local authorities and the increasingly
anxious public the hope is that the
clown’s will quietly disappear and many
analysts expect that they will
eventually as the police make it more
difficult for casual pranksters to go
out scaring the number of clown
sightings could fall and the trend could
be quashed
however with Halloween on the horizon it
may be some time before that happens
one theory on the clown epidemic says
that it is an alternate reality game
given the traction that clown sightings
have online and the potential for
footage real or faked to be seen by
millions interest in or fear of this
quote other world could continue for as
long as creepy clowns go uncaptured and
unidentified while the police seek out
the scares the frenzy already created by
them could prove a longer lasting
problem
did these facts get you thinking it is
not a crime to just be creepy to vote
for which new story is covered next
head over to watchmojo.com slash suggest
and be sure to hit that subscribe button
for more newsworthy top 5s published
every week they see a clown and he
appears to be acting erratic in a
location where you typically would not
see a clown you know to use precautions
[Music]
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