Police Departments Warn People The Killer Clown Craze Is About To Return Thanks To The New Remake Of 'It'

As the remake prepares to release, communities are scared!

Elana

• Published in Weird
• September 6, 2017

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns and polls have shown that it is the most common fear among American citizens. It's not hard to see why, these beloved childhood heroes who entertain at circuses and birthday parties have an undeniable creepy element that cannot always be easily explained but the horror industry has taken great lengths to capitalize on this fear and just about any mode of entertainment you can imagine from movies and television series to books and even musicians have used clowns to instill fear and send chills down our spines for decades. Of course the truth is that Coulrophobia actually goes back even farther and even the one and only Charles Dickens put a terrifying clown in his literary piece The Pickwick Papers and that's all the way back in the 1880's.

Then, in the mid-1980's famous author Stephen King wrote the book It and from there the iconic horror story went on to terrify millions as one of the most famous horror movies known. Soon, the remake will release in theaters everywhere prepared to chill a new generation and remind those of us from the past just how (and why) scary clowns can be.

Of course, entertainment industry aside we've had some more recent and real-life clown related horrors in the United States and United Kingdom! As recently as the fall, approaching Halloween season, of 2016 both the UK and USA experienced what authorities deemed a "Killer Clown Craze." Literally countless sightings of eerie, threatening clowns were reported sometimes looming through security footage and other times leaping out of bushes and corners to terrify passers by, often times the real-life horror villains brandished weapons which only increased their terror factor.

When the first sighting occurred in August of 2016  in Greenville, South Carolina (USA,) people were horrified to hear the tale. A young boy told his mother that two clowns had tried to lure him into the woods. No, I'm not recapping a horror movie folks, this really happened! Parents in the community clutched their children a little closer that night but the incidents did not cease from there.

From that boy's horrifying story the reports rolled in. Photos and video footage haunted the Internet, captivated our time lines and news feeds, and gave everyone with a fear of clowns downright nightmares.

The "Killer Clown Craze" was so viral that pranksters even tried to capitalize on it, as in this video:

While police took all reports seriously, including the pranks people were playing, the threat of arrest did not appear to cause any of the offenders hesitation and the sightings went on for months.

Just when we all thought we could calm down and relax a little in the post-craze haze the threat appears to be looming on the horizon again...

Just last week in Chelmsford, England a creepy clown was sighted yet again in a park. 

Now, according to the Pennsylvania State Police Department:

It is anticipated [that] ‘creepy clown’ sightings could be reported starting as soon as September, in part due to the fact that the movie IT will be released in theaters.

As horrifying as it is to consider we can't help but wonder after all the backlash clowns received in 2016 why they would be attempting to resurrect this horror-trend, even for the sake of the iconic film's release. One video went viral last year when a prank went wrong. A "victim" did not find the prank very funny and thought he was dealing with a genuine threat and took it out on the prankster.

The video turned out to be a set-up but there were real stories of people not finding the pranks funny and defending themselves like their lives depended on it.

Of course, not everyone who dresses up as a clown is out to scare us. Lots of professional clowns are still out there entertaining innocently and plenty of these "Killer Clowns" are just enjoying the opportunity to spook people out, if you were to see one in real life, looming eerily in the dark, and especially if they are carrying any sort of weapon, we don't encourage anything other than getting the heck out of there and contacting the police. It may or may not be a prank, but it certainly takes an amount of unhealthy thoughts to enjoy popping out of corners and looming in dark playgrounds intentionally scaring innocent children and adults minding their own business. 

And if you're considering donning a costume and joining in the fun don't forget that the police are taking it seriously! In 2016 a "Killer Clown" in England landed himself in prison for a whopping 6 months for scaring a pregnant woman with an ax.

Police in the UK and the USA encourage everyone who may see a "Killer Clown" to stay calm, avoid panic, and get to safety to contact the police.

We concur.

Anyone can mess with your head, especially if it's on the phone. Here are some creepy and disturbing phone calls that women have received.

Elana