Analysis: No one laughing about clown sightings

The following was submitted by Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot. The analysis is from uren “Ric” (Ric) Moore, intelligence officer, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The analysis delivered to law enforcement through the Louisiana State Analytical & Fusion Exchange (LA-SAFE) Liaison.
There have been several clown sightings and one arrest of a person accused of wearing a clown mask in Eunice.
Oct. 7 — An epidemic of clown sightings has spread across America – and no one is laughing any more: So far, there have been about 100 sightings with a few arrests and since schools sent warning letters home to parents the Great Clown Panic of 2016 cannot be ignored.
Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Not actually characterized as a psychological disorder, but understandable nonetheless. The first person to spot a clown, the patient zero in the current epidemic of threatening clowns sightings was a little boy at a low-income apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina who reported an unsubstantiated incident that clowns were spotted trying to lure children into the woods.
So far, there have been about 100 sightings, with the most concentrated area being the Northeast and South. Seeing a clown wielding a knife isn’t funny and would scare anyone but in the grand scheme of things, 100 sightings is not that big of a deal. As far as we know, nobody who has reported seeing a clown has been hurt. (Possible exception is that a man in Pennsylvania stabbed a teenager to death wearing a clown mask but it was noted that the mask was “pushed up onto his head, not over his face.”)
However, now that schools have sent warning letters home to parents and arrests are being made, the Great Clown Panic of 2016 is no longer ignored. Supposedly across the nation lurk incredibly creepy and dangerous clowns. This is not the first time that such hysteria has occurred and it had to be clowns just mere weeks before Halloween. Communities around the country have been perturbed by sightings of clowns or possible clown-related threats or any manner of creepiness ranging from flat-out hoaxes to actual credible events. People have been arrested. Social media is crawling with creepy, homemade clown videos. An explanation for why, all of a sudden, there are clowns running amok in our neighborhoods and imaginations with the inevitable referneces to serial killer John Wayne Gacy, there are a few legitimate possibilities.
Folklore with a modern twist
Benjamin Radford is a folklorist and the author of the non-fiction book “Bad Clowns,” says the current fad we’re enduring is nothing new, and similar waves of stories and hysteria have happened before. In the 1980s there were these ‘phantom’ clown reports where stories that Massachusetts schoolchildren were chased or lured by clowns. Parents and teachers took it seriously. This sounds familiar, because the pattern closely resembles one of the first clown encounters that tipped off this latest fascination. In the ‘80s, like now, the stories caught on even though they remained unsubstantiated. Many of those reports were hoaxes, some were pranks, and some were schoolyard rumors, but the stories continued, in Chicago, Baltimore, and even in Great Britain. In other words, there’s a “snowball effect” where rumor and legitimate concern mix with our human penchant for a good story. Since the events in Greenville, clown sightings have been reported in several states, and some people have actually been arrested for scaring people in costume, making clown-related threats, and in one case, chasing kids with a baseball bat while wearing a clown costume. This only serves to strengthen a pretty pervasive myth.
Its viral marketing
It makes sense that someone capitalizing on the fascination and creepy clown imagery has used viral marketing before, and the whole point of stunts like that is to get people talking. In fact, one creepy clown video from Massachusetts, has already been revealed to be a viral marketing stunt for a local haunted house. So even if this whole clown thing didn’t start off as a marketing ploy, it’s certainly created some fertile ground. It’s also hard to ignore the fact that there’s a remake of the classic horror story “It” coming out next year. While it seems like perfect timing, the movie’s makers aren’t toying with your delicate emotions just to get you in the theaters. Warner Brothers has declared that there is “absolutely no connection” between the film and recent clown sightings.
An expression of human anxiety
Clowns are a source of childlike amusement, but they can also be scary and weird. Perhaps clowns are like specters of anxiety and discomfort, bogeymen that personify our deepest fears. Some experts say that these sorts of panics tend to surface when there’s underlying social anxiety - the election year and a lot of political and ideological divisions. The awareness of school shootings and terrorist attacks causes concern from parents and law enforcement and even all this is overblown, why take chances? The clown sightings of the 1980s came at a similar time of cultural upheaval when there was the satanic panic, the hysteria over Dungeons and Dragons, and sensationalized media reports of Satanists trying to abduct children. It’s a different world today, but underlying patterns are the same.
A social media fad
Scroll through one of the several recently-created “clown sighting” Twitter accounts and you will find horror-movie-quality clown videos, with clown encounters in the wild. Amidst the sightings social media users are going to find a way to cash in. The scary clown image is perfect for social media and custom-made to go viral.
It’s all part of the folklore tradition, but instead of sharing around fires and whispered bedtime stories they are re-tweeted and posted about, embellished and adding additional touches along the way. It’s the idea that one is enacting a legend and wants to be a part of it.
An augmented reality game (ARG)
Slenderman, the creepy internet character that figured into a brutal teenage stabbing case in 2014 was part of what is called an “augmented reality game.” Not like Pokemon Go, it’s more of a souped-up version of a myth, and part of the fun of an ARG is immersing yourself in the make-believe of it all. While there’s no hard evidence to suggest this clown fad is actually part of an official or organized augmented reality game, it’s not hard to imagine the spirit of ARGs has infused some of the storytelling given the way it’s spread and documented online.
Ockham’s Razor - It’s not always just make believe
The easiest explanation is that there really are a bunch of creepy clowns out there hell-bent on some nefarious end. The recent number of creepy clown sightings is disturbing because it’s hard to tell where myth ends and reality begins. Intellectually most people think that it’s mostly overactive imaginations, but then someone gets arrested for making violent clown threats and we start to question it all.
In the information and intelligence sharing realm we know that rumors can have consequences and we must verify and validate. Then clown epidemic isn’t just fun because some people are scared and there have been cases where people have become violent out of fear. It is important for the all to realize that underneath all of the sensationalized headlines, there isn’t any original threat and the real threat may be an overreaction to the story, not the clowns themselves. Therefore, when we prevent people from wearing clown masks or costumes we are protecting both those who are truly afraid and those who masquerade.