In early August 2016, the clown phenomenon began in
Green Bay, Wisconsin and according to
The New York Times, reports began to surface of clown sightings in
Greenville County, South Carolina in late August.
[12] In Greenville County, it was rumored that clowns were attempting to lure children into the woods with money or loitering around.
[12] Similarly, a clown was sighted in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina offering treats to children; the clown fled when police arrived.
[13] Five pictures of a creepy clown roaming a vacant parking lot under a bridge in Downtown Green Bay at night started going viral on 1 August 2016.
[14] 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,
[15] with the film having a limited theatre run and released on VOD platforms in September 2019.
[16]
After the Wisconsin incident, numerous other incidents started popping up across the United States at the end of August 2016. 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.
[17]
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.
[12]
Throughout this time, internet social media sites received numerous postings related to the phenomenon. The
World Clown Association president Randy Christensen took a stance against the trend of people dressing up as clowns to frighten people.
[18] Circuses[19] and other clown-related businesses were affected.
[20] In October 2016,
McDonald's decided that
Ronald McDonald would keep a lower profile as a result of the incidents.
[21] A sociologist has called 2016 "a bad time to be a professional clown".
[22] The killer clown craze was linked to a significant increase in sales of clown suits in and near
Glasgow, Scotland.
[23] During Halloween, some Floridians decided to go armed while trick-or-treating.
[24]