Editing Evil clown (section)

== Urban legends and incidents ==
===The clown sightings===
{{see also|2016 clown sightings}}
The related [[urban legend]] of evil clown sightings in real life is known as "phantom clowns".<ref name=eul>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Urban Legends|last=Brunvand|first=Jan Harold|author-link=Jan Harold Brunvand|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|year=2002|isbn=9780393323580|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofur00janh_0/page/313 313]–315|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofur00janh_0|url-access=registration}}</ref> First reported in 1981 in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]], children said that men dressed up as clowns had attempted to lure them into a van.<ref name=media>{{cite book|title=The Martians Have Landed!: A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes (Google eBook)|last1=Bartholomew|first1=Robert E.|last2=Radford|first2=Benjamin|author-link2=Benjamin Radford|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2011|isbn=9780786486717|pages=105–109|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyik93izNqEC&pg=PA105}}</ref> The panic spread throughout the US in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] and [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]]. It resurfaced in 1985 in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]; in 1991 in [[West Orange, New Jersey]];<ref name=deseret>{{cite news|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/177088/SOMEONE-KEEPS-SENDING-IN-THE-PHANTOM-CLOWNS.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102020142/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/177088/SOMEONE-KEEPS-SENDING-IN-THE-PHANTOM-CLOWNS.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2015|title=SOMEONE KEEPS SENDING IN THE PHANTOM CLOWNS|last=Brunvand|first=Jan Harold|author-link=Jan Harold Brunvand|work=[[Deseret News]]|date=9 August 1991|access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> in 1990 in [[Brazil]], through a story reported by the Brazilian [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] ''[[Notícias Populares]]'';<ref>{{cite web |title='Palhaço da Kombi' aterrorizou crianças e adultos nos anos 90 |url=https://www.portaldoholanda.com.br/lendas-urbanas/palhaco-da-kombi-aterrorizou-criancas-e-adultos-nos-anos-90 |website=Portal do Holanda |access-date=2 February 2023 |language=pt-br |date=13 May 2021}}</ref> and 1995 in [[Honduras]]. Later sightings included Chicago in Illinois in 2008.<ref name=media/> Explanations for the phenomenon have ranged from [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[It (novel)|It]]'' and the crimes of serial killer [[John Wayne Gacy]],<ref name=eul/> to a [[moral panic]] influenced by contemporaneous fears of [[Satanic ritual abuse]].<ref name=media/> It also shows similarities to the story of the [[Pied Piper of Hamelin]].<ref name=deseret/> In most cases the reports were made by children, and no adults or police officers were able to confirm the sightings.<ref name=media/>

In 2013, a character who became known as "the [[Northampton]] Clown" was repeatedly sighted standing silently around the English town. The work of three local filmmakers, Alex Powell, Elliot Simpson and Luke Ubanski, the Northampton clown was similar in appearance to Pennywise from Stephen King's ''It''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/northampton-clown-unmasked/309900/|title=Northampton Solves the Mystery of The Creepy Clown|first=Connor|last=Simpson|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=16 October 2013|access-date=21 October 2016}}</ref> Although rumors said that the clown may have a knife, the clown himself denied these rumors through social media.<ref name=England>{{cite web|url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/news/48166/real-life-evil-clown-terrorizing-town-in-england/|title=Real Life Evil Clown Terrorizing Town in England!|last=Squires|first=John|work=[[Dread Central]]|date=18 September 2013}}</ref> In March 2014, Matteo Moroni from Perugia, Italy, owner of YouTube channel [[DM Pranks]], began dressing up as a killer clown and terrifying unsuspecting passers-by, with his videos racking up hundreds of millions of views.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why I am a 'killer clown'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-37612735|agency=BBC|date=25 October 2016}}</ref> In 2014, further complaints of evil clown pranksters were reported in France, the United States and Germany, possibly inspired by ''[[American Horror Story: Freak Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a30429/france-joins-the-evil-clown-hysteria-102714/|title=France Joins The Creepy Clown Hysteria|last=Howard|first=Michael|work=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|date=27 October 2014|access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref>

In 2014, "the [[Wasco, California|Wasco]] clown" attracted social media attention in California. Again this clown shared a similar resemblance to Pennywise, and it was revealed that the social media postings were part of a year-long photography project conducted by the artist's wife.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heavy.com/news/2014/10/wasco-creepy-clowns-bakersfield-california-photos-prank-hoax-copycats/|title=Wasco Clown: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|date=13 October 2014|publisher=Heavy}}</ref> In [[Bakersfield, California]] "menacing" clowns were reported, some with weapons.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bakersfield-clowns-20141010-htmlstory.html |title=Menacing clowns in Bakersfield prompt calls to police, one arrest |date=10 October 2014 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In July 2015, a "creepy" clown was seen around a local cemetery in Chicago and terrorizing anyone in the graveyard.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/creepy-chicago-clown-scales-cemetery-gate-article-1.2305104 |title=SEE IT: Creepy Chicago clown scales cemetery gate, eerily waves  |date=27 July 2015 |newspaper=NY Daily News}}</ref>

There was another burst of such [[2016 clown sightings|sightings in 2016]], including in South Carolina and New York.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/05/clown-sightings-south-carolina-alabama|title=Clown sightings: the day the craze began|first=Matthew|last=Teague|date=8 October 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorkupstate.com/capital-region/2016/09/creepy_clown_epidemic_comes_to_upstate_ny_several_sightings_reported.html|title='Creepy clown' epidemic comes to Upstate NY, several sightings reported|work=newyorkupstate.com|date=29 September 2016|access-date=30 March 2017}}</ref>

Researcher [[Ben Radford]] writes that there have been many surges of evil clown sightings reported, Radford says it is most likely pranksters. The [[urban legend]]s and panic can cause real danger as "face-painted pranksters and innocent bystanders may be at risk" by interaction of well-intended public or police thinking a threat exists when it does not.<ref name="Radford 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Radford |first1=Ben |authorlink=Ben Radford|title=Return of the Phantom Clowns |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=8–9 |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquirer}}</ref>