‘Killer clowns’ back in 2020? Leave it to TikTok to revive this carnival of terrors
A deadly contagion aggresses our population; the world burns as wildfires rage across the American West. In short, 2020 continues to be a carnival of terrors.
What better time for the revival of a beloved, vintage classic: The American “killer clown” sighting? (Just in time for Halloween, which will probably be canceled this year, too!)
The clowns—dressed in typical clown garb and donning sinister face paint—were a bizarre social media trend of 2016. From August to October, they were sighted in a patchwork of locales across the country: hanging around laundromats in South Carolina, lurking in bushes alongside dirt roads in Florida. They rattled lengths of chain, whispered, and attempted the lure children into the woods with candy. Then suddenly, after baffling police officers and striking fear into the hearts of Americans nationwide—they disappeared.
As Vox reported, most of those sightings turned out to be hoaxes, and we were happy to be done with them.
Nevertheless, some social media users are intent on bringing them back! A new viral video on TikTok shows a pair of “killer clowns” supposedly chasing down a car in Kentucky last week:
@killerclownsightings2020 THIS HAPPENED EARLIER TODAY IN KENTUCKY?? #fyp #ProveWhatsPossible #ActingChallenge #killerclowns #staysafe #becareful #signalboostthisvideo #evil
? 3 Musketeers (feat. NextYoungin) – NextYoungin & ppcocaine
And another shows a clown wielding a machete in California:
@killerclownsightings2020 SPOTTED A HOUR AGO IN ANAHEIM CA!!! #staysafe #becareful #evil #killerclowns #AirheadsDitchChallenge #ShowAndTell #TimeforTENET #fyp #trump2020
You’ve been warned. If you do dare venture outside—amid the smoke fumes, debris, and roaming coronavirus pathogens—beware the errant killer clown.
And stay off TikTok!
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