SC - Clowns spotted trying to lure kids into South Carolina woods

[GeeEm]

Michael Jackson dressed funny... does that count?

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

LOL, that was funny, also, he acted like a clown at times! Good one Wyle :laughing:


jmo :moo:

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

So, two cannibals were eating a clown, and one turns to the other and says...

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Does this taste funny to you?

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[SophieRose]

I guess to keep in the spirit of things the clown response unit would have to battle with these evil clowns with bottles of seltzer water, pies to the face, and gigantic nets to capture them.

I suppose I'll have to start making decals and embroidered patches now...

[video=youtube;bzOrby71MGs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzOrby71MGs[/video]

 

[wfgodot]

Smithsonian:

The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary

---
Enter the young Charles Dickens. After Grimaldi died penniless and an alcoholic in 1837 (the coroner’s verdict: “Died by the visitation of God”), Dickens was charged with editing Grimaldi’s memoirs. Dickens had already hit upon the dissipated, drunken clown theme in his 1836 The Pickwick Papers. In the serialized novel, he describes an off-duty clown—reportedly inspired by Grimaldi’s son—whose inebriation and ghastly, wasted body contrasted with his white face paint and clown costume. Unsurprisingly, Dickens’ version of Grimadli’s life was, well, Dickensian, and, Stott says, imposed a “strict economy”: For every laugh he wrought from his audiences, Grimaldi suffered commensurate pain.

Stott credits Dickens with watering the seeds in popular imagination of the scary clown—he’d even go so far as to say Dickens invented the scary clown—by creating a figure who is literally destroying himself to make his audiences laugh. What Dickens did was to make it difficult to look at a clown without wondering what was going on underneath the make-up.
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Telegraph:

Why are we so scared of clowns?

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Andrew Stott, an English professor who specialises in clowning culture, says that fools always had a tenuous grip on life and society. “The medieval fool was continually reminding us of our mortality, our animal nature, of how unreasonable and ridiculous and petty we can be.”

This continued through to the 16th century, where Shakespearean jesters were often linked to death and dark truths. “King Lear’s fool wanders around reminding everyone that they’re not as clever as think they are while talking in contorted double speak to undermine our sense of what we think is going on,” says Stott.

“Clowns have always been associated with danger and fear, because they push logic up to its breaking point,” he adds. “They push our understanding to the limits of reason and they do this through joking but also through ridicule.”
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Atlantic:

How Clowns Became Terrifying

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How, exactly, did clowns go from lovable children's entertainers to the bewigged, bone-chilling incarnation of evil? The answer is complicated, and spans a period of almost 200 years, even if the current trend of coulrophobia seems to have peaked with the ascent of online media.

Traditionally clowns are anarchic figures who defy the boundaries of normal social conduct, even before Heath Ledger's Joker just wanted to watch the world burn. In Edgar Allan Poe's 1849 story Hop-Frog, a physically deformed court jester who's consistently the butt of practical jokes encourages the king and his court of noblemen to dress as orangutans covered in tar, at which point he sets them all on fire. The unpredictable nature of a clown's behavior, and his or her tendency to transgress acceptable standards of behavior (by, for example, throwing pies in each others' faces, or squirting water on an innocent bystander with a trick buttonhole flower), probably makes us wary of what other lines they might cross.
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much more at the links above

Quiz Thursday.

 

[Caffeine]

Has anyone posted the story of the guy with a machete chasing the clown? This is getting more ridiculous by the day.

 

[woodforest]

Has anyone posted the story of the guy with a machete chasing the clown? This is getting more ridiculous by the day.

VERY near me...not sure if it's a copy cat or legit. Last clown sighting was in a pretty rural area in a housing development.

 

[bluesneakers]

Smithsonian:

The History and Psychology of Clowns Being Scary


Telegraph:

Why are we so scared of clowns?



Atlantic:

How Clowns Became Terrifying



much more at the links above

Quiz Thursday.

Open book?

 

[wfgodot]

Open book?

Never open book, occasionally open note, but, whatever the case, as a professor I was prone to offer helpful hints.

 

[charminglane]

It's like War of the Worlds, only with clowns.
More reports every day.

 

[FindHG]

Nov 2, 2015

"CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Police arrested a Chesterfield man after receiving a report he was wearing a clown costume and mask, holding a knife, and chasing children from a bus stop Friday afternoon."

[...]

"His mom Misty Dunivin said it was a Halloween prank, but really a cry for help."


http://wtvr.com/2015/11/02/killer-c...r.com/2015/11/02/killer-clown-bus-stop-prank/

sorry if it's a repost.

 

[dotr]

http://www.wyff4.com/news/Film-company-comments-on-creepy-clown-sightings/41550004

[h=1]Film company comments on creepy clown sightings[/h] [h=2]Distributor says Rob Zombie film not associated with sightings[/h]

GREENVILLE, S.C. —Creepy clown sightings in the Upstate and across the Carolinas have led to speculation that it could be part of marketing for an upcoming film, but at least one company says their film has nothing to do with the clowns.

One theory about the sightings in Greenville County is that they could be connected with marketing for the upcoming Rob Zombie film “31,” set to open in select theaters on Sept. 1. The promotional poster is a scary clown in whiteface makeup that looks similar to images being shared on social media, allegedly from local sightings.

 

[dotr]

In the North Carolina counties, costumes are not verboten - but officials are encouraging residents to resist putting on clown gear.

"Although it is lawful to dress as a clown, given the heightened tensions about these entertainers, officials are discouraging 'copycat' behavior by individuals who may find it humorous to mimic suspicious behavior," Greensboro police said in a statement issued Tuesday. "Copycats unnecessarily alarm the public and place an unnecessary drain on police resources."
As the sightings continue, working clowns have distanced themselves from the creepy kind, which the entertainers see as antithetical to the true spirit of clowning.
David McCullough, a Texas performer known professionally as Kornpop the Klown, wrote in an email in response to The Post's earlier Carolina clown coverage, "I have worked very hard all my life to be a person that kids and their parents respect and can look up to."

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/09/clown_sightings_prompt_copycat.html

 

[GeeEm]

September 7, 2016
5:20 PM ET

Creepy Bozos Haunting Woods Are Making Life Hard for Real Clowns

The next time Kelly Monfort gets a clowning gig, he'll put on his bright costume, pop a jaunty hat on his head and paint his nose a fun shade of red.

Then he'll call the police and tell them exactly where he's going and what kind of car he's driving.

That's because Monfort, who performs under the name Mr. Twister, lives a half-hour from Greenville, South Carolina, where reports of menacing creeps in clown get-ups stalking the woods have unnerved local residents.


Related: 'Clowns' in S.C. Woods No Laughing Matter


Monfort, who has been a professional clown since 2008, saw the hysteria up close during a job over Labor Day weekend.

"I walked into a event in a bright-colored hat and vest and one of the first things someone said was, 'Oh my God, it's a clown, it's a clown' — in a frightened way," he said.

<SNIP>

The so-called "creepy clown" sightings are not confined to Greenville. There have been reports of these bozos — at least one allegedly armed — in North Carolina and Ohio. Photos of a man in clown makeup in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in August turned out to be part of a viral marketing campaign for a short film.


Related: Another Creepy Clown Incident Reported in Ohio

Whether the most recent incidents are harmless pranks, crass publicity stunts or the work of "juggalos" who worship the band Insane Clown Posse, the sightings are bad news for working clowns who get paid to make people smile.

<SNIP>

Some professional clowns believe fans inspired by the new Rob Zombie killer-clown movie "31" or paying homage to a reboot of "IT" may be behind the sightings.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...oods-are-making-life-hard-real-clowns-n644211

 

[Jax49]

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/08/stephen-king-discusses-north-carolina-scary-clowns

Stephen King, whose Pennywise the Dancing Clown has menaced readers ever since the publication of It in 1986, has officially weighed in on the real-life scourge of creepy clowns in North Carolina.

The new film version of It, which is not staging these clown-sightings as a stunt, is currently shooting with plans to debut in theaters next September.

 

[Caffeine]

Arlas Obscura:

In 1981, Clowns Allegedly Appeared Across Boston, Similar to Current Clown Panic
A deep dive into "phantom clowns" leads us to '80s Boston, "The Paddler," and Donald Trump.

Interesting article. I grew up outside of Boston and I vaguely remember my parents mentioning this story to me when I was young. By that time the movie "It" had already come out and I already had a healthy fear of clowns anyway.

Now that I'm living in the Carolinas, I just heard about "The Paddler" which is even worse because he actually abducted kids.

There really are some crazy people out there....

 

[wfgodot]

Interesting article. I grew up outside of Boston and I vaguely remember my parents mentioning this story to me when I was young. By that time the movie "It" had already come out and I already had a healthy fear of clowns anyway.

Now that I'm living in the Carolinas, I just heard about "The Paddler" which is even worse because he actually abducted kids.

There really are some crazy people out there....

fresh off the press --

WS: "The Paddler": being the depraved tale of the monster George Kent Wallace (1941-2000)

 

[dotr]

Arlas Obscura:

In 1981, Clowns Allegedly Appeared Across Boston, Similar to Current Clown Panic
A deep dive into "phantom clowns" leads us to '80s Boston, "The Paddler," and Donald Trump.

Very interesting article, touched on some intriguing ideas.
Not to put a fine point on it, because i support the idea of everyone being who they want to be ect.but, could any of this phenomenon be a subconscious reaction to the new social norm/ acceptance of people dramatically changing appearance with makeup, ie drag Qs, or those who had cosmetic surgery?
Not a prof. nor a proph', so hopefully am understood and nobody is dissed!
imo, speculation.

 

[wfgodot]

Very interesting article, touched on some intriguing ideas.

snip

Yeah, the guy referenced in it, Loren Coleman, is top-notch and worth listening to.

 

[cuffem]

http://www.wral.com/police-accuse-winston-salem-man-of-making-false-clown-report/16001020/
Man accused of making false clown report.

 

[wfgodot]

[video=youtube;xbyDp3jhw_4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbyDp3jhw_4[/video]