by Drew Flanagan ‘19, Staff Writer

The creepy clown is not a new image in the minds of Americans, but it is one that has suddenly come to life these past few weeks. According to The New York Times, the concept of “phantom clowns” was coined in 1980 in response to an incident of a clown offering children candy. While the investigation found no physical evidence, the claim was never forgotten; but it was only depicted in movies and not in real life. However, the crazy clown suddenly became a reality when one August day this past summer, a man claimed he saw a clown engaging in suspicious activity. This clown sparked the recent clown scare, but again, the police found no proof. So why has this long-time Hollywood image suddenly been brought to life? To find out, we asked members of our own community to weigh in.

Ryan Gajarawala, a member of the Class of 2018, shared his thoughts on the scare: “It was pretty frightening at first simply because there were threats of murder in my town. Clowns are supposed to make kids happy. I do believe that the clowns are real, but it is hard to believe if I have not seen them.” Like many of us, Ryan was skeptical of the clown sighting due to lack of evidence. However, when he heard of the clowns breaching his own town, West Orange, he started to worry. Like the rest of the country, the story is the same; there was a sighting, but there is no evidence.  

Ms. Mahoney, a member of the English Department, commented: “I feel for actual professional clowns who have seen their profession co-opted by the horror movie industry.  Nonetheless, there is something about ‘fake happiness’ that Americans are inherently skeptical about.” Ms. Mahoney hints at a broader idea of why this is happening in America by examining “fake happiness,” which hits a button in Americans.

Gioia Basile ‘19 affirmed Ryan’s thoughts: “At first I was nervous because I didn’t know what intentions these clowns had. I didn’t know if they were harming anyone. After hearing they were just scaring people, I thought it was funny. However, I did believe in the reported incidents because my friend said there was one at her school. After that, I no longer found it funny.” Like Ryan, the idea of clowns only became alarming when they were spotted in her own neighborhood.

The clown scare reveals broader implications about American society: it shows how we respond to witness claims and dramatize events. In an age of rapid media circulation, news circulates more quickly than ever. But events that are constantly retold and rewritten may lose some facts along the way. Furthermore, the national craze reminds us how personally we are affected when something happens in our own backyards. Experiencing this personal distress teaches us to have sympathy for those who are impacted in other tragedies across the country. Currently, the sighting claims have no evidence and are only circulating by word of mouth. Although some might just be “clowning around,” the incidents should still be taken seriously.