You may have read about the latest craze that’s been sweeping the West over the last couple of months. No, it’s not Pokemon Go -- this is something rather more frightening.
So-called “creepy clown” sighting are on the rise across the world, with people choosing to dress up as scary versions of the children’s favorite in order to scare people, or something even worse.
And while this isn’t just a recent phenomenon, this summer saw the chilling craze’s biggest revival yet.
“This is nothing to do with clowning, it’s to do with people hijacking a costume and for some sinister reason trying to scare people,” said Rob Bowker, spokesperson for UK-based Clowns International.
What started as a single occurrence in the US, when a group of people dressed in clown masks allegedly tried to lure children into woodland in South Carolina in August, has now-gone global, with incidents reported in places as far flung as Norway and Australia.
While most episodes are seemingly innocent, with some just looking to frighten people as a joke, not all of them are so harmless.
A teenager in Sweden was recently stabbed by an unknown attacker dressed as a clown, while elsewhere i the country an 8-year-old boy was left shaken after leaping three meters from the balcony of his home trying to escape a man in a clown outfit who had knocked on his door at night.
Perhaps one of the most affected groups, however, is that which makes its living from putting on floppy shoes and a red nose.
“I have been a professional clown for 34 years now but this is ruining my business,” Fudgie the Clown, a professional children's entertainer from New Jersey, USA, told the BBC.
“I am not getting the phone calls. And it’s not only me. My clown friends too,” she explained.
Further more, hundred of professional clowns in Mexico decided to continue with their annual convention in Mexico City on Oct 20, with attendees chanting:”We are clowns, not killers.”
But while these Latin Americans are carrying on regardless, it’s not business as usual elsewhere.
Several local authorities in the US have banned clown costumes from this year’s Halloween festivities, which take place on Oct 31, while police in the UK have asked some fancy dress shops to remove clown masks from sale.
Police in England are also appealing for the pranksters to put a stop to the clowning around, saying that they are a drain on resources. “These are stupid acts that are really frightening people and wasting our time,” a spokesperson said.
“In one case a child was followed. Whether those involved are doing it for a joke or not, this is no laughing matter.”
Source: i21st.cn
