Creepy Clown – what’s up with it?

Since ES at the latest, many people have had the image of a bloodthirsty, murdering clown in their heads. But IT was just a story. The “Creepy Clown” phenomenon, however, is still unexplained.

Creepy Clown: People supposedly dressed as clowns try to scare children. They stand on the edges of forests, in cemeteries and on the sides of roads. These Creepy Clowns are said to carry knives that they wave around. But when it comes to Creepy Clown sightings, the information varies: what is fake, what is real?

Lots of warnings about Facebook

If you read the various reports about creepy clowns, you often get the feeling that there is a “white van syndrome” here: the warnings about the clowns are distributed on Facebook, people scare each other and sometimes even take their own initiatives hinder police work.

A few days ago, the police in Nampa (Idaho) responded to these Facebook warnings and warned the population not to take part in the clown hunt:

(Content: To the residents of Nampa - we are aware of the Facebook posts regarding clowns in Nampa. We are taking precautionary measures, but the large number of residents seeking the clowns makes it more difficult to search yourself. Please do not use them No matter what motivation you're looking for, whether it's for help or for a sense of adventure: please don't. Even if we usually appreciate your help, in this case it's more of a problem - thank you .)

Since August 2016, there have been various reports of clown sightings in the USA, some of which turned out to be hoaxes. Ibitimes.com wrote about this on October 3, 2016 [ 1]:

There have been both real and fake clown sightings in northern Idaho, according to Boise Weekly.
Shoshone County Sheriff's deputies have reported finding “fake” clown Facebook pages. (Content: There are both real and fake clown sightings in northern Idaho, according to Boise Weekly. Shoshone County Sheriff Deputies reported "fake" clown Facebook pages.)

The authorities also react differently, as reported by Pasco Cointy, where the police investigate a report, but the schools do not believe there is a threat:

Although police were investigating the threat, Pasco County Schools issued a statement stating it had “no reason” to believe that threat was credible.

Other schools have reacted differently: in Ohio, schools were closed after a woman reported a Creepy Clown [ 2 ] that was attacking her and posing a threat to students. Nevertheless, US newspapers also report that the reports are often hoaxes.

Many have been determined to be hoaxes, resulting in at least a dozen arrests.

And Europe?

Apparently Creepy Clowns have now also been spotted in France and Great Britain. At least the police are following up on reports. The Kleine Zeitung recently reported [ 3]:

Police in the Thames Valley region west of London reported 14 reported incidents over the weekend in which people were frightened or intimidated by masked people.

No arrests have been reported yet, but we keep reading that the warnings are being spread via Facebook. The Swiss Tagesanzeiger in particular quotes the sociologist Robert Bartholomew [ 4]:

«Social media ensures that panic fueled by rumors travels around the world in the blink of an eye. It is part of a fundamental fear of strangers and terrorists in an increasingly urban, impersonal and unpredictable world.”

So far there have been no warnings in German-speaking countries... let's just wait and see. Maybe the clowns will come to us in a white van.