All you want to know about the 2016 “Killer Clown” epidemic

The run up to Halloween 2016 has certainly not been a pleasant one for anyone with a significant phobia of clowns. They’ve managed to capture many a news headline and plenty of social media attention during the latter end of the year.

The problem with clowns, naturally, is that they’re the perfect fodder for tabloid sensationalism, the fake news (“entertainment”) industry and a slew of pranksters, both online and off. And when all of these people meet at the “Halloween party”, mass hysteria will inevitably follow.

And so will the rumours, which have been in overdrive. Clowns invade Canada and embark on murder sprees. Clown serial killer on the loose in the US. Congress pass a law allowing police to shoot suspicious clowns. Justin Trudeau claims anyone dressed as a clown will be fined $10,000. A woman wearing heavy make-up mistaken for clown and shot in a parking lot?

So, it’s time to work out what’s real and what’s not. But for those with either a short attention span or in need of quick facts…

TLDR: There are no killer clowns on murder sprees, and most of the rumours circulating about either clowns or innocent people being murdered are false. However there have been plenty of clown sightings, and some reports of clowns trying to lure children into the woods, and the mass hysteria surrounding all of this is certainly real, resulting in multiple arrests (so read our warning at the end!)

Okay, for those interested in reading a little further… let’s start with what’s false…

US killer clowns on killing spree in Canada

Reports that clowns from the United States have taken ‘up North’ and killed 23 people in Canada originate from a fake news website called The Global Sun which describes itself as a “satire website” which posts “made-up stories that should not be taken seriously.” Of course if the story was real, it would have gotten mainstream media attention, which it hasn’t.

14 dead and 36 injured in US after killer clown spree?

Again, this story originates from The Global Sun fake news website. It isn’t real at all.

Canadian prime minister Trudeau announces clowns will be fined $10,000

Claims that Justin Trudeau announced that anyone caught dressed as a clown will be fined $10,000 and arrested also originate from the same fake news website. Again, it isn’t true whatsoever.

Women with heavy make-up mistaken for clown and shot dead or attacked?

Claims that women are being shot dead or attacked after being mistaken for clowns are also fake. The “entertainment” site claimed that two women, Kelly Perez and Melissa Reyes, were attacked/shot after being mistaken for clowns, but both came from the site TheNoChill.com with describes itself as a “notorious entertainment website”, a disclaimer that can be found at the bottom of each page.

Congress passed a bill allowing police to shoot clowns

Again this is story that claims police can shoot “malicious” or suspicious clowns started from a fake news website, the DailyFinesser.com , a site that claims it is for “entertainment purposes only”.

‘GodKing’ clown left threatening note to cancel Halloween?

Claims that a clown known as “GodKing” left a threatening note to cancel Halloween or “people will get killed” started from a known satire site “TMZWorldNews.com” and is not real.

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And now, what’s true…

There’s been a surge in clown sightings

One only needs to take a quick glance on any number of YouTube channels, Twitter feeds or Facebook pages dedicated to archiving recent clown sightings to determine that yes, the sightings of creepy looking clowns as gone up. Schools have gone into lockdown, police departments across the US and Canada are on high alert and even students are on “vigilante” hunts.

But why?

The run up to Halloween no doubt plays a crucial part to this terrifying trend. This is the perfect time for budding YouTube stars to play their pranks, looking to make their videos go viral. Clowns have long been the ideal subject matter for many a video prank, and YouTube has long been littered with videos featuring clowns wielding chainsaws, beating up “dead bodies”, jumping from trees or from behind bushes, or simply staring menacingly at passers-by. And as Halloween approaches, the number of people creating these sorts of videos will only escalate.

Of course social media plays an important role too. As soon as reports start flooding in about spooky clown sightings and the tabloids and fake news industry begin their input, that information gets disseminated virally across platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and everyone wants to be a part of the trend. This no doubt provides sufficient motivation for many others to get involved too, resulting in more people dressing up, and fuelling the hysteria.

Clowns attempt to lure children into the woods?

Reports that clowns were trying to lure children into woods in Greenville, South Carolina, are real, although these occurred in August 2016, and there has been no trend of similar incidents. Police investigated the reports, though no arrests were made. However a local property manager did warn residents with a letter.

Vigilante hunts at Penn State University

Videos of an apparent “hunt” for clowns at Penn State University appears to be real, though at this time it doesn’t appear that anything came from it, and no one was reported to have been hurt.

Schools have gone into lockdown

A number of schools across the United States have ended up in lockdown after reports of nearby clown sightings. Many of these however turned out to be hoaxes.

People have been arrested for dressing as clowns

Many people dressed as clowns have indeed been arrested, though these arrests are linked to pranksters making a nuisance of themselves, like these kids from Arkansas terrorising members of the public with a horn.

Be warned: This could get serious…

While the killer clown murdering sprees are not real, participating in this sort of mass hysteria can have very real consequences. As we stated above, people have been arrested, both for playing pranks and for involving themselves in clown related threats. Given the number of “hunts” and current state of anxious awareness regarding this frenzy and the many alarming mistruths it has managed to spawn, it appears inevitable that at some point, an innocent prank could go very wrong indeed, and people could get hurt.

Ultimately, the “take home” of this article is that there is no epidemic of killer clowns on the loose murdering people. While isolated incidents can (and have in the past) occurred involving physical altercations with people dressed in clown outfits, this is ultimately just mass hysteria, and readers are strongly advised not to get carried away with it all.

What is clear, however, is that if you do come across a clown in your neighbourhood, the chances of him (or her) being genuinely dangerous are next to zero. You’re most likely seeing someone pranking you, someone in the middle of some kind of performance art or a person simply making their way to a fancy dress party.