Freaky Friday Files: The 2016 Clown Sightings

Hi friends! Happy Friday! For this edition of Freaky Friday Files, we are going to be taking a look at the 2016 Clown Sightings - and yes, this did turn out to be a marketing stunt for a horror film and hoax in general. And it wasn't the first time it "happened." If you are not into clowns, I recommend skipping this post and checking out another of my Freaky Friday Files more tailored to your liking.

PIN IT

The 2016 Clown Sightings

In 2016, there were many reports of clown sightings, where people disguised as "evil " clowns were appearing in really odd and jarring settings such as forests and near schools. Reports of these clowns were made in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and a few other places during August 2016. Where was the OG sighting? The OG sighting was first reported in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and this was a marketing stunt for a local horror film - called Gags. However, it turned into something much bigger, and by October 2016, clown sightings and "attacks" had been reported in nearly all US states, 9/13 provinces/territories of Canada, and 18 other countries around the world. What started as a bit of a clown trend ended up in something quite terrifying - it's pretty scary to think what humans are capable of in these situations.

Precursor Sightings

Before these incidents in 2016, there had been many sightings of people dressed as clowns in odd areas - and such reports have been circulated since 2013, mainly due to the proliferation of social media.

In 2013, Northampton, England, there were numerous sightings of a creepy clown roaming the streets who looked very similar to Stephen King's Pennywise from IT. This incident was actually the work of three filmmakers - Luke Ubanski, Elliot Simpson, and Alex Powell, who used this to make a Facebook page "Northampton Clown" and drive engagement to the page (ha, clever marketing). It wasn't anything to do with IT.
In 2014, a YouTuber by the name of Matteo Moroni (the owner of a channel called DM Pranks) began dressing up as a clown and scaring people in Perugia, Italy. Moroni filmed his escapades, and his videos got A LOT of views - like hundreds of millions of views. Some videos were also filmed in the USA. He also claimed he doesn't harm anyone, but personally, I think you can harm someone by scaring them without their consent. Moroni also claims he wasn't part of the clown craze trend, but contradicts himself by saying he can see how his videos have increased the moral panic about clowns.
In 2014, there was also an increase in sightings of "evil" clowns in California, USA, known as the "Wasco Clown" on social media platforms - authorities believed that these social media accounts were most likely copycats of the clown trend.
Also in 2014, there was a documentary called Killer Legends - which had a segment called "Why Are Clowns Scary" where the filmmakers went to Chicago to explore previous clown moral panics that swept the city in 1991 and 2008, which were most notably tied to the serial k*ller John Wayne Gacy (as well as the Stranger Danger moral panic).
In 2015, July, a person was spotted dressed as a clown in a cemetery in Chicago. Two residents spotted the clown scaling the gate of a cemetery late at night. when the clown got over the gate, he spotted the two residents who began videorecording, and the clown just started waving at them, then ran into a dark area and was not seen again. Authorities were unable to track who this was.

The 2016 Sightings

As already mentioned, there was a sighting in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 2016 that was a marketing stunt for a short horror film - Gags.
In August 2016, reports of clown sightings began in Greenville County, South Carolina, with a rumour that clowns were attempting to lure children into the woods. Around the same time, clowns were also seen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who would offer children treats but fled the scene when authorities showed up.
By October 2016, there were a lot of reports of clowns in Canada, the UK, and Australia - so creepy. In Australia, the clown craze hit Perth, where a masked man burst out from the bushes to terrify passersby, walking in the evening in the dark.
These clown sightings had dire implications - there were 12 arrests in the USA and at least one fatal stabbing that occurred in Reading, Pennsylvania - allegedly a 16-year-old boy was participating in the clown trend, provoked someone, and got stabbed.
Following this clown trend/hoax/moral panic, the World Clown Association took a stance against people dressing up as clowns to scare people, McDonald's Ronald McDonald had to keep a low profile, and sociologists called it a bad time to be a professional clown. There was also an increase in clown suit sales in Glasgow, Scotland.

Warnings

During this weird weird time, the Russian Embassy in London issued a warning to both Russian and British citizens, and the Fijian police also issued a warning for people not to participate in clown-related events. New Zealand shops withdrew clown costumes from shelves, and some schools in the USA put a ban on all clown costumes and masks.

The Threatened "Purge"

So I'm hoping that we're all familiar with the horror movie "The Purge" (2013) because that's basically the premise for this threat. On the 25th October, 2016, many news outlets reported that there was an alleged clown-initiated purge that was going to take place on Halloween Eve in 2016. I believe this was just a rumour. There is a lot of misinformation about a particular case that occurred in Florida on Halloween in 2016 - it was thought that a family was attacked by a mob of 20 people in clown masks. However, the original article says that the authorities would not release what kind of masks the mob was wearing - it's not clear if they were wearing clown masks or just Halloween masks. One person said the masks were like masks from the movie The Purge. No arrests were ever made.

There was also mobs of people who would go and search for these "evil" clowns at two universities - Pennsylvania State University and Michigan State University.

Let's talk about this sociologically!

First things first, Stephen King has always denied any involvement in this clown craze when the movie IT was released, and I am inclined to believe him. You can read more "here"; it was obvious to him that the 2016 clown craze was just a hoax. Although I remember seeing marketing tactics with red balloons prior to the release of IT (arguably, a bit less scary and more obvious marketing ploy).

If we're going to talk about clowns, we do have to talk about the infamous serial k*ller, John Wayne Gacy, who m*rdered at least 33 young men and children. John Wayne Gacy was known as "The K*ller Clown". Before authorities knew about his horrendous crimes, he would perform as a clown. JWG blurs the line between creepy and professional clowns.
There is a phobia of clowns, "coulrophobia," which demonstrates that clowns are inherently creepy. However, this clown "hoax" is problematic for people who perform as clowns (in a non-creepy way) for children and comedy skits. A quote from Criminologist David Wilson in The Guardian says, "Clowns deliberately exaggerate the human face and cover the human face with paint so as to make the face less human," and "When a small child is first learning about the world, to have exaggerated features is incredibly disquieting. It makes them question what they are just beginning to feel is normal. Of course, the clown’s behaviour is meant to be funny, but if you haven’t yet developed that sense of the world then you simply view them as odd, scary.” It's giving uncanny valley vibes ya know?
Stanley Cohen's (1972) Theory of Moral Panic - The clown scare is a great example of a moral panic (well, what started as a moral panic), as a moral panic is where a person or group is perceived as a threat to societal values or safety—despite little to no evidence. In this case, the clowns were the "folk devils," where authorities and parental figures acted strongly - even when some were just hoaxes, and can be seen as similar to the Satanic Panic because it fed into fear and uncertainty.
Media Amplification - The spread of the clown hoax was fueled by news and media, which often exaggerated what was really going on and made isolated incidents out to be way more common than they actually were. Often, the media is hungry for attention, and clickbait articles do that a lot, so information wasn't always verified. And with the rise of social media, memes, YouTube, Facebook, etc., the threats felt more real and ominous. This ties into the "deviancy amplification spiral"—the more media coverage something gets, the more it seems like a widespread issue, which can actually create more incidents.
Social Contagion - According to Wikipedia, social contagion "involves behavior, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network." This theory highlights how once an idea is out there, others might start copying it - maybe some copied the clown hoax as a prank but others did it to evoke fear.
Urban Legends and Cultural Symbolism - As noted above, clowns tap into deeper socio-cultural fears because they are masked, uncanny, and ambiguous which connects into The K*ller Clown archetype (JWG, Pennywise) and Urban Legends often thrive in uncertain times. The clown scare played into fears of strangers, child a*duction, and the breakdown of community trust.
Policing and Public Trust - Some areas responded with increased policing, school lockdowns, or even arrests of pranksters in clown costumes - even if they weren't do anything wrong. This highlights how institutions respond to perceived threats even if there is no evidence.

Even though the clown scare was mainly a hoax, it did lead to a few scary incidents - however these incidents were isolated and not happening everywhere. I think it's important to note that people aren't consenting to get scared in public by a clown. If someone goes into a horror house, they're consenting to get scared, but in public, no way. I hope this blog post has highlighted some of the implications of what this 2016 clown craze did. I also think it will be interesting to see what happens following 2025 - as we're living in an increasingly uncertain time.

Thanks for reading!

Stay safe

Ash x