Creepy clown paranoia is spreading in the Carolinas and police say reports of clown sightings are no longer funny. Problem is, police have yet to see a clown themselves, let alone interview one about what's going on.
In the past month, police in both North and South Carolina have received multiple reports from people about clowns acting strangely and even trying to lure kids into the woods with money, said People magazine.
It's not clear what's motivating the clown acts. There's speculation about a hoax, or just clown copycats, and even acting out by fans of an upcoming movie about an evil clown known as Pennywise who terrorizes a group of young boys.
“If this is a hoax or publicity stunt it is not funny,” said Greensboro, North Carolina police spokeswoman Susan Danielsen. “It is alarming to the public and a drain on police resources. We just don’t know at this point, because we haven’t had the chance to interview any clowns.”
The most recent reported clown sighting occurred on Tuesday when a man with a machete supposedly chased a clown into the woods near an apartment complex in Greensboro.
The person was “wearing a scary clown mask, red curly wig, yellow dotted shirt, blue clown pants and clown shoes,” according to a police report.
Police searched the area and found nothing.
“We don’t know why he was there or what he was doing there,” Danielsen said.
Police in Greenville, South Carolina, are taking no chances. They announced Thursday that the next person to dress up like a clown and terrorize residents will face arrest, said the Washington Post.
“It’s illegal. It’s dangerous. It’s inappropriate, and it’s creating community concern, so it needs to stop,” police chief Ken Miller told reporters at a news conference, per Greenville Online.
The Twitter community has been all over the clown story:
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