The creepy clown spotting you’re so often reading about now began in South Carolina earlier this summer, though there have been occasional sightings since the early 1990s when Stephen King’s novel It was released and later became a movie. Even King himself has asked people to cool it with the clown pranking — many of the sightings have turned out to be pranks — since the phenomenon began.
Still, tens of people have been arrested across the country for making terroristic threats; others have been charged with falsely reporting them. The reports generally come from children and, when posted online, are usually targeted at kids and teenagers. Many states have subsequently banned clown costumes at school Halloween celebrations.
Meanwhile, the growing panic around clowns, both real and creepy and fake but still threatening, has caused the real clown community to rally: A Clown Lives Matter march organized by clowns will take place in Tucson, Arizona, later this month as "a peaceful way to show clowns are not psycho killers. We want the public to feel safe, and not be afraid. So come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug!"
Below, a comprehensive timeline of clown sightings reported across the country since August:
August 20: Residents of a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment complex tell police clowns tried to lure their children into the woods by offering them money by the complex. Though deputies confirmed the complaint and added extra security to the area, they were never able to find or catch any clowns in the area.
August 30: A 12-year-old in the same neighborhood tells police there were two clowns in the backyard. Again, no police confirmation.
September 1: Another Greenville woman calls police claiming a white man dressed in full clown gear stood outside the laundromat staring at her. The Sheriff officially announces anyone caught in clown gear will be arrested and charged for making legitimate threats against the community.
September 4: Winton-Salem, North Carolina, police receive a call about a clown trying to lure two children into the woods, this time with “treats.” Though an adult claimed to have heard the clown the children reported, the clown suspect fled the scene once the police arrived. Another sighting was called in two miles away shortly after — police could not find anything.
September 14: In Macduffie Couty, Georgia, two children tell police they were walking to their bus stop around 6 a.m. when two men in all black, clown masks, and big red wigs began chasing them. A neighbor (also a child) corroborated the story, saying she saw the clowns following the boys before they began chasing them.
September 15: Two Alabama high schools, as well as a middle and elementary school, are put on official lockdown after Facebook user “Flomo Klowns” began threatening students. Sightings are reported and police questioned several suspects, but no arrests were made.
September 15: Two people are arrested in Hogansville, Georgia, for falsely reporting a clown sighting.
September 16: Makayla Smith, 22, and two unnamed minors are arrested for making terroristic threats in connection with the September 15 Flomo Klowns incident. Police uncovered another account (Shoota Cllown) that had also posted threats to students.
September 19: "Several" kids report clown sightings to the Annapolis, Maryland, police who within the week debunk the sightings as made up.
September 21: Both children and their parents call police reporting clown sightings in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. This time, two clowns were reportedly yelling at people from inside a vehicle before driving away.
September 24-27: Florida is hit with a string of clown sightings. One man posted a (now-deleted) Facebook video appearing to show a clown staring at him and a friend walking. He captioned it "Not trying to die today" and "We stopped to record and then he started to move so we took off."
September 25: Phillipsburg, New Jersey, police report a child was chased by three clowns who jumped out of the woods at 8 p.m. Four other clown sightings are reported and police presence in town increased.
September 27: A man in a clown mask robs a Phoenix, Arizona, Taco Bell and Domino’s in quick succession while wielding a gun. Police continue to investigate.
September 29: According to the New York Times, at least 12 clowns have been arrested all over the country by this point in time.
October 3: Nampa, Idaho, police begin searching for suspects after another clown Facebook account pops up threatening to hurt people in town. Though one person was brought in for questioning, he/she was eventually dismissed. "Thankfully we didn’t come across any creepy clowns and so therefore in our area here I believe it was somewhat of a hoax," Nampa Police Sgt. Tim Riha said.
October 5: Two 14-year-old boys showed up at a Des Moines, Iowa, high school in clown masks to scare their friends, one of whom was caught by the principal. The other was ordered to return to the school (both are students at a neighboring high school). No charges were made.
October 5: Hordes of Penn State students mob campus and downtown searching for a clown police say never existed. The clown projected on an apartment complex that started the riot was reportedly taken from online.
October 9: Two thirteen-year-olds and one fourteen-year-old are taken into custody in Albuquerque after they allegedly approached a woman in clown masks and with what she believed was at least one hand gun, but turned out to be "a very realistic-looking air-soft gun." It’s unclear if charges have been filed, but police said the situation would’ve ended much differently had the gun not been fake.
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Tess Koman covers breaking (food) news, opinion pieces, and features on larger happenings in the food world. She oversees editorial content on Delish. Her work has appeared on Cosmopolitan.com, Elle.com, and Esquire.com.
