Precursor sightings One possible precursor event was the 2013 sightings of a "creepy clown" in
Northampton, England. The Northampton clown sightings, which were in the town during September and October 2013, were the work of three local filmmakers: Alex Powell, Elliot Simpson, and Luke Ubanski. The clown shared similar looks to
Pennywise the Dancing Clown from
Stephen King's book
It. The trio started a
Facebook page for the so-called "Northampton clown" and was using the appearances to drive traffic to the page. A rash of sightings appeared in
California, USA in October 2014, which centered upon the "Wasco clown", and primarily occurred in the
Wasco, California area with photos appearing on social media. A segment called "Why Are Clowns Scary?" was part of the 2014 documentary
Killer Legends. The filmmakers traveled to Chicago to explore the previous clown panics that swept the city in 1991 and again in 2008, linking them to serial killer
John Wayne Gacy, and the
stranger danger panic. It was around this time in 2014 that some of the first clown sightings appeared in the U.S., including early sightings in Staten Island, New York. A person in clown attire was spotted in a cemetery in
Chicago in July 2015. This occurrence involved two residents who spotted the "creepy clown" scaling the gate at the
Rosehill Cemetery late at night. After the clown entered the cemetery, they turned to face the residents and began waving slowly as they made a video recording. After waving for a few seconds, the clown ran into a dark wooded area and was not seen again. Police investigation of the sighting did not lead to any arrests.
2016 sightings and effects On August 1st, 2016, the clown phenomenon began in
Green Bay, Wisconsin. Five pictures of a creepy clown roaming a vacant parking lot under a bridge in Downtown Green Bay at 2am local time. A Facebook page was created shortly after, claiming that the clown was named "Gags". In the days that followed, the pictures were discussed on numerous news outlets including
Fox News, and
USA Today. Suspicions of the character being related to a horror film were confirmed when a Wisconsin filmmaker announced the pictures were a marketing stunt for a then-unreleased short film titled
Gags. A feature film was produced based on the short film and premiered in 2018, with the film having a limited theatre run and released on VOD platforms in September 2019. After the Wisconsin incident, numerous other incidents started popping up across the United States at the end of August 2016. According to
The New York Times, reports began to surface of clown sightings in
Greenville County, South Carolina in late August. In Greenville County, it was rumored that clowns were attempting to lure children into the woods with money or loitering around. In early October 2016, further incidents were reported in Canada and the first occurrences in the United Kingdom and Australia. British communities were described as "horrified" and pressure had been placed on police resources. According to
The New York Times, the clown sightings resulted in at least 12 arrests across the United States and one death. In
Reading, Pennsylvania, a 16-year-old boy was fatally stabbed during an incident that could have been provoked by a prowler wearing a clown mask. The charges related to the sightings included making false reports, threats, and chasing people.
Circuses and other clown-related businesses were affected. In October 2016,
McDonald's decided that
Ronald McDonald would keep a lower profile as a result of the incidents. A sociologist has called 2016 "a bad time to be a professional clown". The killer clown craze was linked to a significant increase in sales of clown suits in and near
Glasgow, Scotland. During Halloween, some Floridians decided to go armed while trick-or-treating.
Warnings On 12 October, the
Russian Embassy in London issued a warning to Russian and British citizens because of the clown scare. On 13 October, Fijian police warned people against involvement in the events.
Clown costume withdrawals and bans Several New Zealand shops withdrew clown costumes from their shelves. In the United States, school districts in California, New Jersey, and Ohio issued a blanket ban on all clown costumes and clown masks in addition to previously existing policies and restrictions.
Target pulled clown masks from its website and stores as a result of the scare, as did
Canadian Tire. The village of
Memramcook, New Brunswick asked residents not to dress up as clowns on Halloween. Employees of theme parks were instructed to remove any horror costumes and make-up before leaving work.
Threatened "clown purge" and aftermath By 25 October 2016, several news outlets reported on an alleged clown-initiated "purge" or "attack", which supposedly was to take place on Halloween Eve of 2016. While there were no widespread "purge" attacks as threatened, a family from Florida was attacked on 31 October 2016, by a group of approximately 20 people in clown masks (and masks styled after
The Purge movie). No arrests were made.
Hunts Students at
Pennsylvania State University and
Michigan State University were involved in mobs that searched for clowns on campus after reported sightings. Rumors of clown attacks floated around on campgrounds. == Motive ==