News Story #2

Creepy clowns create chaos

All across the U.S., people are becoming more and more terrified to see people dressed as clowns.

To most, clowns are seen as people trying to bring happiness and joy  through balloon animals and funny faces. To others, it’s always scary to be near one. A freshman at Morningside College, Kasey Nelson, gave me her take on clowns: “I think they’re scary in general. The face paint and their hair makes them look creepy and unapproachable.”

Within the past couple weeks, though, everyone has been on the lookout for them, not wanting to cross paths with the white-faced, crazy-haired spooks.

From cornfields to the woods to walking the streets, people are dressing up as clowns, but it doesn’t stop there. Many of these clowns are found holding weapons such as knives.

A viral video of two teenaged boys getting chased through the woods by a clown holding a knife spread like wildfire through social media. But this isn’t the only incident that has been recorded.

More and more people are catching their encounters with these clowns on video. Whether or not these videos are genuine or just a group of kids trying to scare the internet, everyone is on edge.

Upon searching “clowns” on Twitter, there are hundreds of thousands of tweets and multiple “clown sighting” accounts tweeting where people have supposedly seen one of these suspicious clowns.

Morningside College’s head of security, Brett Lyons, sent out an email to all students, staff, and faculty late Monday night saying there were “calls of a 4 door car with 3 individuals in it driving around campus. One of the individuals was wearing a clown mask and trying to scare individuals on campus.”

In asking Lyons what he thought about this situation and what they intend to do, he explains, “We understand the students want extra protection and security around campus and we are doing everything we can. We always provide escorts around campus, especially at night if someone happens to be alone.”

Even with this extra security being put in place, walking alone at night seems more eerie than on a usual nightly stroll through campus.

Some students are staying cautious, always traveling in groups and some are utilizing the security escorts. Others aren’t too worried, “If I saw it was a student I’d probably just laugh,” jokes Morningside sophomore Lynsey Fuller. She continues, “But if it was someone actually trying to scare people, I’d scream and run away.”

Morningside College, along with everyone else, continues to be on the lookout for these creepy clowns creating chaos.