A Circus is in Town

There is word of a creepy and ominous circus making its way around the country. This circus doesn’t involve elephant performances, flying acrobatics, or magical flame swallowing, but instead, an eerie group of lurking clowns who have allegedly been sighted in six states. No arrests have been made and zero evidence has been found. Although most witnesses have described the clowns differently, there’s one factor of this creepy clown mystery that remains stagnant, the media is the driving trend.

According to Fox 6 News, the sightings began on August 21^st in Fleetwood Manor Apartments in Greenville, South Carolina. A group of young children saw a clown in the woods while playing basketball outside. On August 24^th Fleetwood’s property manager sent a warning letter to every resident of the apartment complex. By September 3^rd, eight more sightings were reported in similar neighborhoods throughout the area. As word began to spread, so did the clowns. Several reports were made throughout the nation of clowns standing near the woods, trying to lure kids with candy and money. An entire school district in Cincinnati, Ohio closed on September 30^th due to a report made by a woman that a clown attacked her and threatened to harm students in the area. Insider.foxnews.com says the attacker was never found.

The incidents are not only concerning but also confusing. Where is the evidence and how have they not been caught? New York Magazine posted an article confirming that two people in Georgia were put in jail after making false claims about a clown sighting. Which begs the question, are people just making things up? The people in Georgia may have lied, but I can't believe that dozens of children would lie about running away, horrified after spotting a clown or that multiple grown civilians would create such troubling accusations. Regardless, it’s not something to take lightly.

If you’ve been on social media in the last 2 months, I’m sure you’ve seen multiple posts regarding the situation.  From humor to horror and everything in between, people on social media can’t stop talking about the clowns. Just last night, students and security officers stormed the campus of Kent State University on a manhunt after an alleged clown sighting. I watched it all unfold via Twitter and Snapchat. It’s truthfully a frightening occurrence that people should take seriously, but I question if the hype of the media has caused a slew of clown impostors. When something gets this much attention, there will always be people (scary clowns) willing to take advantage.