Volume CXI, Issue 3
The student news publication of Walnut Hills High School
Thursday October 13, 2016
The “Clown Clan” creepy and cryptic
PHOTO COURTESY OF HORRORNEWS.NET
Three clowns creepily stare at a camera. There have been many clown sightings around Cincinnati and across America in recent weeks. The Twitter account “Clown Clan” has threatened to appear in schools in Cincinnati including WHHS. Shiv Malhotra, ‘20 Ibrahim Munir, ‘19 Imagine driving down your street at night like any other day. Same road, same signs and same traffic. But this time, your headlights shine on a clown - the epitome of your fears - with its white-painted face, blood-red smile and eerie glare. All over the United States, groups of people are dressing up as clowns and creating fear and distress on streets and in schools, threatening student and teacher safety. At least ten states have been threatened by this trend, and this could be just the beginning. Social media apps, such as Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, have been used to show images and videos of creepy clowns terrorizing random people, encouraging others to copy them. As of Oct. 7, many have been arrested for either falsely reporting clowns to the police, or threatening other people while in the guise of a clown, throughout the country. This organized group of creepy clowns is known as the Clown Clan. Looking specifically at Ohio, students from Mount Healthy High School, Milford High School and Sycamore Junior High and High School have been arrested. The Colerain Township Police stated that they “will continue to be vigilant and act quickly when criminals threaten our community and our children.” The Butler County sheriff, Richard Jones, directly told the Clown Clan in a press release “you will go to jail.
This will eliminate the element of surprise when you get arrested.” At our very own Walnut Hills High School, several students had heard of a rumor spread through a Twitter account named “Clown Clan” that threatened an appearance from the ‘Clan’ at school. Macayla Quiles, ‘22, has heard about people dressed as clowns kidnapping kids in South Carolina and says she is afraid of them. “I don’t [want] to die,” Quiles said. Lindsay Duffy, ‘17, was “terrified about [the people dressed as clowns], the face, the makeup and the dress” that she saw on TV. But Lindsay was not worried about the threat made to WHHS. The school’s “maximum security” eased her worries. The Clown Clan has threatened multiple schools and areas through their Twitter account, where they have been announcing
where they will supposedly appear. They have appeared at many of the schools in Ohio, but have done nothing more than show up or make a threat. However, their threats have shut down various school districts, creating unnecessary fear for students, parents and faculty. In a rumored post spread online, they claimed to come to WHHS on Thursday, Oct. 6, but no one reported seeing any people dressed as clowns on said day. However, this is not the first time that clown imitators have been sighted all over the U.S. In the 1980s, similar events occurred in the Boston area. Loren Coleman, a cryptozoologist, someone who studies the folklore behind mythical beasts, came up with “The Phantom Clown Theory.” Coleman attributed the proliferation of imitator clown sightings to mass hysteria mainly spread
by children. It was unknown if reports made were real or just a hoax. Rami Nader, a Canadian psychologist who studies coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, believes that the ambiguity surrounding clowns is what creates the phobia in the first place. Their paint or masks make them look happy, but are they? He also says that their unusual physical appearance creates fright, confusion and mystery. Confirming this idea is a survey conducted by CNN with 1,371 people ranging from ages 18-71, that shows that most people believe the creepiest occupation is being a clown. However, people who do act as clowns for a living are regular people, just like anybody else, and only want to entertain. In Tucson, Arizona, “good clowns” have planned a “Clown Lives Matter” march. This event was planned to show that real
PHOTO COURTESY OF PHRASH.COM
A clown stands outside of a house on a dark street. People have reported seeing clowns walking around different parts of Cincinnati recently, frightening many who see them.
clowns are not psycho killers, which is how they feel they are being portrayed as on social media, television shows and movies. The Arizona group maintains normal people. According to Nikki Sinn, the organizer of the event, the clowns are “going to gather together and walk peacefully and pass out balloons, animals and fliers and give out free hugs.” The march will commence at 6:30 PM on Saturday, Oct. 15th, at 4th Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Many of the facts about the clown imitators are based around speculation. It is unknown if the ones showing up in different states are a part of one organization or independent imitators and terrorizers, or if a group came together to plan this beforehand, or if one person started and a trend began. It is unclear if the people dressing up as clowns have a purpose or if it is all for sport. It’s also unclear how far they are willing to go to scare people. The Clown Clan Twitter account suggests a “big day” coming up, but that is the only evidence of such an event. What is known is that this isn’t the first time the United States has seen an occurrence like this, and may not be the last. It has been scientifically proven that much of the paranoia and fear surrounding clowns is because of their ambiguity and enigmatic qualities, but at the end of the day, these clowns are people just like us, and dressing up in a costume doesn’t make them any more harmful.