Stop Clowning Around!

I use to like clowns. Well, that’s not exactly the truth. I never use to mind clowns, put it that way. Once or twice a year as kids, we would be taken to the Circus, where we would sit near the front, very well-behaved, and watch the strange, over-priced proceedings.

There were mostly clowns fooling around in red and white costumes throwing flour, hardly any animals except performing dogs, a tight-rope walker maybe, and a parading horse in a pink dress. (I’m starting to understand something about myself here. This explains A LOT!)

In movies like Uncle Buck (1989), the clown is a washed-up drunk has-been because, let’s face it, who wants to be a clown anymore. Why is that? If you search Google for movies with clowns, all you find are horror movies. They’re scary because of the clown in them. So there is a concerted effort to indoctrinate us into believing that clowns are bad. We know the Joker of Batman fame is no ordinary clown of course. Neither is Pennywise the Dancing Clown, he of Stephen King’s ‘It’ story.

Your friendly neighbourhood clown courtesy of the UK

This is what Wikipedia tells us about It:  A mysterious demonic entity, ‘It’ is a monster of unknown origin which preys on children and humans every three decades, stating ‘It’ finds the fear in children akin to "salt(ing) the meat". Among ‘It’s powers is shapeshifting into a form that induces fear while killing the victim, normally assuming the form of a middle-aged male clown, calling itself "Pennywise the Dancing Clown", modelled after Bozo, Clarabell, and Ronald McDonald.

 

Amazing artist JPS challenged Banksy when he made Pennywise steal the eponymous little girl's balloon!

'It' can also manipulate people into doing its bidding, either by assuming a form most familiar to them, or promising them their desires. Thus, having control over what happens, many of the child murders ‘It’ commits are never solved, as the adults either act as though nothing is happening or have forgotten about ‘It’.

Roger Moore as 007 in Octopussy (1983) 

The story below caught my eye today. After reading a lot about scary clowns over at Twilight Language and other bloggers with similar ideas, this ‘news worthy’ report just had me laughing.

Batman Comic (2007) NO. 663

You got to hand it to them, whoever started this, may single-handedly have destroyed the happy innocent childhood memories of millions. Perhaps this is the point afterall. Once you reach a certain age, you are supposed to grow-up (like you are programmed to) and stop clowning around, or else the clowns WILL get you. Alternatively, it’s a great way to scare the bejesus out of everyone for your own aims.

Batman The Dark Knight (2008) Clown masks

Armed clowns stalk California towns

The Telegraph

By Nick Allen Los Angeles

© Instagram - Wasco Clown

A California community is being stalked by creepy clowns reportedly armed with knives and baseball bats.

The bizarre phenomenon in the towns of Wasco, Delano, and Bakersfield appears to have begun with an innocent Halloween photography project in which a man dressed up as a clown and took spooky night-time pictures of himself at local landmarks.

The so-called "Wasco Clown" quickly collected 40,000 followers on Instagram. But police have received 20 reports in the last week of copycat clowns, some of them reportedly armed and chasing people in the street. One report to police said a clown was armed with a gun, another with a knife.

Sgt Joe Grubbs of the Bakersfield Police Department told local television: "There's a natural phobia of clowns. And clearly if someone is dressed up as a clown and holding a weapon in a threatening manner that's going to frighten people.

"If they want to dress in a clown outfit and walk down the street, ride in a car, that is certainly OK. We would appreciate it if you don't try to frighten people or wield any weapons at anybody or anything like that."

So far, one teenager dressed as a clown has been arrested.

In a Facebook post the "Wasco Clown" said he only carried balloons. The post said: "Our clown and his wife only go out and take their nightly photo and go home. He does not chase anyone, he does not threaten anyone."

Ray Pruitt of the Kern County Sheriff's Department said: "We received a call, a report about a person dressed as a clown carrying a knife out in the southeast part of Bakersfield."

Bakersfield resident Michael Kephart told ABC7 in Los Angeles: "I think our society is going to pot. It's just a really bad thing."

The Louis Vuitton new campaign features... clown face!