The following story is actually pretty serious and scary.
But it centers an abundance of clowns in a South Carolina town, so it’s understandable why some folks would find it funny.
Starting about 10 days ago, residents of Greenville reported seeing masked figures going up to children and trying to lure them into the woods.
The first eerie sighting of this nature took place at Greenville’s Fleetwood Manor Apartment Complex on August 19.
According to The Huffington Post, a resident there explained her son said he saw clowns “whispering and making strange noises” in the forest nearby.
This unnamed individual says she went to investigate and witnessed “several clowns in the woods flashing green laser lights.”
The clowns then ran away into the woods.
The next night, around 10:30, this same woman said her oldest son heard “chains and banging” on the family’s front door.
Then, around 2:30 a.m. on August 20, a different resident at the same complex said she was walking home when she saw “a large-figured clown with a blinking nose, standing under a post light near the garbage dumpster area.”
Okay, now we’re totally and completely freaked out.
The incident report in this case says the clown waved at the woman and the woman waved back.
In September of 2013, remember, there were multiple sightings of a clown in the town of Northampton in England.
As documented in the video below, he would stand on the street and hold balloons and be creepy, but nothing else ever came of it.
In this South Carolina case, many children have said the clowns have appeared in woods behind one apartment building and that they “try to persuade them into the woods further by displaying large amounts of money.”
In response to these incidents, the Greenville Sheriff’s Office has reported that it found a residence near the end of a trail in the woods where it believes the stalkers may live.
Last Wednesday, the Fleetwood Manor Apartment Complex building management sent out a warning to residents on Wednesday.
It is posted above and it warns parents not to let their kids go unsupervised at night.
“There has been several conversation (sic) and a lot of complaints to the office regarding a clown or person dressed in clown clothing taking children or trying to lure children in the woods,” the letter reads.
It reminded residents that the complex has a 10 p.m. curfew.