The rise and fall of clowns in the nation

Christopher Jones
Mesa Legend

Photo Chris JonesFor the past several months, creepy clowns have been terrorizing America, with sightings of clowns in at least 10 different states sending threats to schools in Connecticut and Ohio and communities in South Carolina to Portland Oregon.  In some cases people claim the clowns assaulted them by surprise, and in other cases some were just really creeped out by clowns.  How this came to be is almost just as creepy as the events it has produced.Other clowns have been claimed to try to lure women and children in the woods, chasing people with knives and machetes, yelling at people from cars.  They’ve been spotted hanging out in cemeteries by people passing by. On occasion people have been unlucky enough to catch clowns in the middle of streets in the middle of the night with the headlights of their cars.  Leaving drivers scared and confused as to why anyone would just be standing in the street in such a manner.

scary_clown-editedNot all clowns are out to put a fright in America, in fact Terry Ricketts, a spokesman for the APS volunteer clown troupe says “It’s not just slapping on some makeup; we take it so seriously. This is not only an art form. It’s something we love,” This isn’t the first time there has been a wave of disturbing clown sightings in the United States. After all, just as many strange events occurred in the Boston area during the 1980s. It is impossible to determine which of these incidents are hoaxes or bonafide tales of people clowning around to the extreme. Clowns have been around for thousands of years.  Historically, jesters and clowns have been a vehicle for satire, going out to perform with the intention of teasing those in power. Hiding their faces provided safety from others so they would not be noticed – as long as it was still considered to be entertainment, it was allowed.

According to a study by the University of Sheffield of more than 250 children aged four to 16, found the images of clowns were widely disliked. Even the oldest of them thought to describe them as scary.
In the 1500’s, Shakespeare put clowns in a new light, using the word “Clown” to describe a foolish or silly person. As the 19th century approached, today’s version of a clown emerged with heavy makeup on its face, wig and oversized clothing. A lot still remains the same since that time, but a lot has evolved and changed overtime. Popular movies such as “Poltergeist,” “It” made by Stephen King in 1990,

“Killer Klowns from Outer Space”, “Spawn,” and “Stitches” in addition to unfortunate and even creepier events and lifestyles, some actual clowns have created a connection between dangerous psychopathic behavior and the traditional clown developed centuries ago. One clown in particular, John Wayne Gacy, a clown in Chicago started the craze in the 1970s when authorities discovered that he killed at least 33 people, burying most in a crawl space at his suburban home.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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