The Plague Doctors Cometh: Update

In 2016, it was the Phantom Clowns and Stalking Clowns. Will 2020 be the Year of the Stalking Plague Doctors?  For the historical reference, see "Phantom Clowns: Classified," September 6, 2016.

Copper engraving of Doctor Schnabel (i.e., Dr. Beak), a plague doctor in seventeenth-century Rome, circa 1656. (The painting's use as a mocking of the horrific effect of the costume is theorized here.)

"Walpurgis Night, when the devil was abroad, when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil things of earth and air and water held revel."

-- Bram Stoker, from Dracula's Guest, 1914.

Walpurgis Night, an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night from the German Sankt Walpurgisnacht, also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in Francia, and is celebrated on the night of 30 April and the day of 1 May. This feast commemorates the canonization of Saint Walpurga and the movement of her relics to Eichstätt, both of which occurred on 1 May 870. (May 1st is also called Beltane.)

Saint Walpurga was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling "pest, rabies and whooping cough, as well as against witchcraft." Christians prayed to God through the intercession of Saint Walpurga in order to protect themselves from witchcraft, as Saint Walpurga was successful in converting the local populace to Christianity. 

 

Eyes Wide Shut (see also here).

2020

In the midst of the present worldwide novel coronavirus/COVID19 pandemic, will (as one anonymous commentator termed them) "steampunk goth wannabes" portraying Plague Stalkers begin appearing?

On April 29, 2020, the National Post published photos take by Jade Gosbell, 21. First reported by the Press Association, a person was seen crossing a Norwich recreational area, dressed in the full garb of the infamous doctors whose outfits became a symbol of death.

This supposed Plague Doctor was photographed in Hellesdon, a Norwich suburb, in the United Kingdom.

2016

Something wicked this way came in 2016.

A Plague Doctor, publicized widely on June 24, 2016, in a long black hooded cloak with a beaked mask, shoulder bag and white stick, was seen taunting people in historic Chester, UK. The mystery person was spotted several times by spooked residents, usually at night. YouTube footage was taken at daylight on a section of the Chester's Roman walls, by the River Dee.

In the short clip, entitled "The Chester ChronicleCreepy plague man vid" the person surveyed the river, then headed off in the opposite direction.

Chester-based social enterprise Big Heritage finally owned up to being behind the trick after the story hit the national headlines.

But after the reveal, more sightings occurred, and Big Heritage said they were not responsible. 

Who knows?

Stay tuned for the events of 2020 and beyond.

Hieronymus Bosch painted this image at the end of the 15th century.

+++

Updates:

Also, it has been observed that Dr. Anthony Fauci is, indeed, a "plague doctor" who appears to be stalking the legacy of President Trump.

In the nearly five years since Donald Trump came down the escalator to declare his candidacy, a set of iron laws has applied to those who enter his orbit.

Rick Wilson, the former GOP strategist who is now a Trump nemesis, summed up the pattern in the title of his best-selling book from last year: Everything Trump Touches Dies. The details vary, but being tempted by Trump has turned into the modern version of the Faust saga. In exchange for benefits that seem glittery and attractive, people around Trump give away much more than they could have reckoned. ~  "This Is How It Looks When You’re Not Afraid: Anthony Fauci is the rare senior government official who seems more devoted to truth than to Trump." by James Fallows, The Atlantic, April 13, 2020. 

Source.

h/t Tim Binnall & Robert Schneck

Creepy Clowns Check-In

The actual Whataburger in Albuquerque, New Mexico, terrorized by a "creepy clown."

It is time to do a little roundup of recent clown stories.

Albuquerque Police say they arrested a "creepy clown" that was terrorizing customers at a local Whataburger.

On Monday night, August 6, 2018, police arrested 32-year-old Stephen Ames, who was reported to be wearing a clown mask and waving a machete at customers in the parking lot of the Whataburger at the intersection of Carlisle and Claremont.

According to a criminal complaint, the manager of the Whataburger told Ames to leave after he reportedly spent 20 minutes in the restaurant’s restroom. Once outside, the manager said Ames took out the machete from its sheath and started banging it against his knee. Fearing an attack, police say the manager then locked the doors of the restaurant.

The original Whataburgers used a "W" in their roof design.

They evolved, by 1961, to some locations with the W-less look, while still retaining the A-frame look.

Police say Ames then approached cars that were stopped at a nearby traffic signal. While wearing the clown mask, police say Ames blew kisses at passengers, then approached a car to write the words “kill you” on a window. Before the car could leave, police say Ames shouted “I will f**k you up” at the occupants.

When police arrived at the scene, they say they encountered Ames with the clown mask on, thrusting his hips in a sexual manner toward the Whataburger restaurant. Ames was taken into custody without further incident. Police say they found a filled heroin needle in Ames’ possession, along with the machete.

h/t AWG

===

Other incidents...

On July 10, 2018, a gunman involved in a robbery reportedly wearing a golden "angry clown" mask shot a Waffle House patron in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sightings of a Phantom Clown described variously with a "clown mask," and/or with "red hair and red pants," near the Hudson Falls Primary School, occurred on May 29, 2018.  The Post-Star (Glens Falls, NY) 5-31-18, pg. 3, notes, "Police looking into 'clown' sighting near Kingsbury school."

At the Little Caesars pizza shop in Holly Hill, Florida, around 11:50 pm on May 26, 2018, a "clown" attacked an employee closing up the store. The "clown" used a wooden post. The employee pulled out his concealed weapon and shot the attacker dead.

Two men wearing clown masks held up a Queens, New York, Walgreen's at gunpoint on May 22, 2018.

On April 11, 2018, there was a Beverly Hills, California incident involving a clown, kids, and a machete. NBC Los Angeles, on April 11, 2018, at 10:19 pm PDT, updated their story:  "A man in a clown mask spooked a Beverly Hills neighborhood Wednesday when he reportedly wielded a machete at children."

On April 9, 2018, WPRI in Warwick, Rhode Island, reported, "Clown-masked robber targets local Dunkin' Donuts."

Also...

See "Phantom Clowns: Classified," for the definition and differences between Phantom Clowns, Killer Clowns, and Stalking Clowns.

See also "Creepy Clowns" and the NY Post's historical article from 2016.

Killer Clowns: 2017 Half Year Report

A frequently heard question, after last year's massive number of sightings and reports of Phantom Clowns and other forms of creepy clowns, is: What happened to all the Clown encounters?

As I noted late in 2016, after Donald Trump's election shortly after Halloween, the media's attention shifted to Trump and that melodrama. That sucked the life out of the clown stories that had evolved from Phantoms, to Stalkers, to Killers. 

The year of 2016 ended with the Creepy Clown jumping the Atlantic Ocean, and being reported, in a more violent mode, as Killer Clowns in the U.K.

During the first half of 2017, the few and far between clown stories are again these more violent type, the actual, real Killer Clowns.

Specific authentic "Killer Clown" news came via three incidents in the USA, all clustering in May 2017.

(1) May 17, 2017 - Glendale, Arizona - Clown With Ax

A group of children walking home from school in Arizona were terrified when they were chased by a miscreant wielding an ax and clad in a creepy clown mask.
The bizarre incident occurred earlier this week in the city of Glendale when the group of youngsters were walking back to their neighborhood.Suddenly, the boys spotted a menacing individual wearing a clown mask and holding an ax coming towards them. According to one of the kids, the ne'er-do-well yelled at them, "you better run because we are coming after you." The frightened boys heeded the clown's advice and ran away from the scene until they got home. "I thought I was going to die today," one traumatized youngster told TV station ABC 15 in Arizona. Although the boys' tale may sound like something they could have conjured up on the way home in a fit of boredom, an investigation by authorities suggests that the encounter was all too real. Cops say that they found both the clown mask and the ax seemingly left behind by the person who harassed the children. With no suspects at this time, police hope that photos of the recovered items from the crime scene may catch someone's attention and lead to a break in the case.Much like warm weather seems to usher in crop circle season every year, one wonders if the same can be said of creepy clowns. Source.

 (2) May 23, 2017 - Denver, Colorado - Killer Clown Kills With Blades

A Killer Clown at Torchy's?

Man in clown makeup with bladed gloves accused of killing man near Torchy’s Tacos.
Suspect tells cops dead man may have fallen on one of the spiked bracelets he was wearing.
Man in clown makeup with bladed gloves accused of killing man near Torchy’s Tacos.
Denver police have arrested a man who was wearing clown makeup when he allegedly stabbed and slashed a 29-year-old man to death with a glove that had blades attached to the end of each finger.
Christian Lee Gulzow, 36, allegedly attacked the victim at 12:49 a.m. Tuesday following an argument near Torchy’s Tacos at West 11th Avenue and Broadway, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The Denver coroner’s office identified the victim as Brian Lucero, 29. The cause of death was a stab wound, according to a coroner’s office news release.
Witnesses told police that the suspect, wearing white clown makeup accented with black streaks on the face, suddenly began threatening the victim with a glove with blades that were 2- to 3-inches long. They were near the Corner Store at West 10th Avenue and Broadway.
Gulzow began pummeling the victim, who tried to dodge the blows, the police report says. The victim eventually punched the suspect, who then yelled at the victim and followed him to Torchy’s. The two were the only ones in the restaurant parking lot.
“The victim collapsed in the north east parking lot of the Torchy’s business,” the report says.
Gulzow allegedly fled on a scooter, the police report says.
Police spotted a man on a Denver Public School’s HALO camera riding a scooter matching the suspect’s appearance in the 900 block of Galapago Street.
They saw the man throw an object in the bushes. Police went to the building and found a knife in the bushes, the police report says.
Police found the man at West Alameda Avenue and Lipan Street. His clothes were covered in blood, the report says.
When interviewed at police headquarters Gulzow said a man threatened him and yelled at him “to get out of my alley.” He claimed the victim attacked him and stole his scooter, the court records say.
Gulzow said he may have hurt the victim when he tackled the victim while he was riding away on Gulzow’s scooter. The victim may have fallen on one of Gulzow’s spiked wrist bracelets, Gulzow told police. The suspect also acknowledged that he may have cut the victim while he jabbed him with his “clawed glove.”
Gulzow’s account was different from those offered by witnesses, the report says.
Gulzow’s jail nickname is Diablo. He has an extensive criminal history with multiple domestic violence, assault and weapons convictions. In 2012, he was convicted of felony menacing with a deadly weapon, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. Source.

(3) May 23, 2017 - Miami, Florida - Clown With A Gun

A man with green hair and “Joker” tattoos on his face was arrested for pointing a loaded gun at drivers in the Miami area.
Miami-Dade police arrested 29-year-old Lawrence Sullivan on Tuesday, WSVN reported.
Sullivan has “Joker” written across half his forehead and “F*** Batman” on the other half.
According to the Miami Herald, Sullivan had a loaded Smith & Wesson handgun with six live rounds in his pocket when officers confronted him.
Sullivan lives with his mother and listed his occupation as “tattoo model,” the paper reported.
Sullivan was charged with carrying a concealed firearm. On Wednesday, his bond was set at $5,000. Source.

Part two of the year may have ripples from IT the movie being released into theaters on September 8, 2017.

++++

As a footnote for 2017, if should be mentioned that political clown, Trump advisor Robert J. Stone Jr., attempted to resurrect his career as The Joker in June.

Phantom Clowns: All News Is Local

The International Cryptozoology Museum has a current exhibit on the differences between Phantom Clowns (coined by me in 1981) & Stalking Clowns.

"All news is local."

The Creepy Clown Epidemic is global. But all stories begin locally, and even national stories are written to reflect the local angle, as the old adage conveys.

Coverage can be national and local. What happens when even your hometown newspaper - in this case from the same publisher whose papers I delivered as a paperboy to over a hundred homes in the 1960s - catches up with the phenomenon?

DECATUR – Coulrophobia – a morbid fear of clowns – is spreading across the nation like a flu outbreak, and its symptoms are infecting people in Central Illinois.
Decatur police have received several calls from Facebook users worried about threatening messages that pop up, accompanied by pictures of clowns. These have turned out to be hoaxes but they are part of a coast-to-coast pattern of scary clown sightings and reports of clowns frightening people, most proving false but some real, that are intensifying as Halloween approaches.
“Social media causes stuff like this to just blow up and get way out of proportion,” said police Sgt. Chris Copeland. “I even heard that somewhere down in the south part of the country, and this might be another rumor floating around Facebook, someone actually got shot while wearing a clown suit.”
Copeland said people have a legal right to dress as whomever, or whatever, they want for Halloween. But he urges caution on where you wear a clown suit and how you behave, and says this might be a very good year to make another costume choice.
And he also has a word of warning for coulrophobia sufferers: don't overreact. Copeland has seen aggressive messages on Facebook targeting clowns and threatening to wipe the smile off their faces with violence.
“I would also like to caution anyone thinking that, just because someone is wearing a clown suit, that gives reasonable cause to shoot them or kill them,” added Copeland. “That is not the case.”
Nationwide news reports on the scary clown phenomena have quoted instances of schools being locked down on reports of clowns wandering the campus. Rolling Stone magazine featured an interview with author Loren Coleman, a Decatur native, who wrote about something he called “Phantom Clown Theory” in his 1981 [sic ~ the coining was in 1981, the book was published in 1983] Mysterious America.
Coleman is quoted as saying stories about clowns trying to lure children have persisted for years and can warp into a mass hysteria.
Professional clowns, meanwhile, are feeling the pain: both in their wallets as bookings get canceled and in fear for their own safety. One group met in Tucson, Ariz., recently to stage a costumed protest march called “Clown Lives Matter.” A flier for the event said: “The march is a peaceful way to show clowns are not psycho killers ... Come out, bring the family, meet a clown and get a hug!”
Decatur Police Chief Jim Getz, watching the clown scare roll across the internet, said he's not seen anything like this before. “As good as the social media can be for some things, it can be just as detrimental in other ways,” he said.
Source:
Clowning around isn't so funny now by Tony Reid, Herald & Review, Decatur, Illinois, October 11, 2016.

Rolling Stone has mentioned me, at least twice, in their recent clown articles:

"'Killer Clowns': Inside the Terrifying Hoax Sweeping America: Clowns have been spotted lurking in woods from South Carolina to upstate New York," By Suzanne Zuppello, September 29, 2016.

The Phantom Clowns, as they were dubbed by cryptozoologist Loren Coleman given their allusive nature, spread to Kansas City, Denver, Omaha, and Pennsylvania. Since the 1980s, clowns have made appearances across the country, usually in the weeks and months leading up to Halloween.

Coleman's phantom clown theory is rooted in the "primal dread that so many children experience in their presence."

"'Killer Clowns' Now Targets of Violence: Clown sightings began as an amusing phenomenon, but have become increasingly dangerous – mostly to the clowns themselves," By Suzanne Zuppello, October 10, 2016.

In his 1981 [sic ~ 1983] book Mysterious America, cryptozoologist Loren Coleman coined the phrase "Phantom Clown Theory," which refers to the way a few sightings of clowns 'luring' children into vans, cars and forests can turn into mass hysteria – even though no clowns are ever actually caught. He says that, though this phenomenon has existed for over 30 years, the recent spate has become worse because of social media.

"The initial sightings were classic Phantom Clowns," Colman tells Rolling Stone, referring to the early reports in South Carolina. "Then, this was then diluted by 'Stalking Clowns': real people dressing up to scare, be seen and be photographed." There is a real danger here – just not where one might expect. "Place this 'Clown Sightings' flap in the middle of an extremely violent year, with so many guns available, and you are going to have potentially dangerous events occurring," he says. "Not for the 'Phantom Clowns' but for the human 'Stalking Clowns' who will be the targets of angry, scared citizens." 

Coleman's prediction is becoming reality. Last week, students at both Pennsylvania State University and Nashville's Belmont University announced campus-wide search parties for clowns after sightings were reported on both campuses. But an amusing evening turned potentially grim as students armed themselves with bats during the march. One student leader "underestimated the power of hysteria" that their marches against clowns would stir up. While those searches luckily stayed peaceful, videos from elsewhere, under the tag #ClownLivesMatter, show people encountering clowns, who appear non-threatening aside from their creepy ensemble, and beating them up. One video even shows a clown being beaten senseless with a baseball bat.

Other recent interviews and mentions of my past research include:

"How a Maine-based Bigfoot expert found himself at the center of the national clown frenzy," by Dugan Arnett, Boston Globe, October 7, 2016. 

The article is an extensive overview of a long interview with me, as well as containing a quote from a key member of the Museum's staff.

As assistant museum director Jeff Meuse puts it, “It’s been quite a frenzy with him trying to make sure that everyone gets a little piece of Loren Coleman.”

Please see entire article.

"Creepy clown trend dates back to ’80s, but this time it’s different," by Dean Balsamini and Melkorka Licea, New York Post, October 9, 2016.

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman (Photo credit: Jenny Coleman)

But while the clown craze is disturbing, it’s mostly harmless and nothing new, says cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, an “investigator of human and animal mysteries” and author of 35 books.
He traced the phenomenon to Massachusetts in 1981, when children reported evil clowns attempting to lure them into vans.
The clowns were never seen by adults.
“There were no arrests, no photographs, no evidence and no abductions,” Coleman told The Post.
Soon after, the “phantom clowns,” as Coleman calls them, turned up in Providence, RI, Kansas City, Mo., Omaha, Neb., Denver, and Pittsburgh.
At the time, Coleman was working as director of the Charlestown office of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services. He wrote to 400 “fellow researchers and writers,” wondering if they had heard of the “unexplained phenomenon.”
The feedback revealed there had been similar reports in local papers. “That was the mystery. How do people in different parts of the country have the same experience? There was no internet or wire stories or national stories about this phenomenon,” said Coleman, who wrote about the sightings in his book Mysterious America.
To this day, the 1981 “phantom clowns” remain a “total mystery.”
“There are long stretches where nothing happens,” Coleman said, noting minor sightings from Phoenix in 1985, and South Orange and Belleville, NJ, in 1991.

There have been other examples. If I thought the 1981 wave of Phantom Clown sightings were widespread, nothing could have prepared me for 2016's spread of both Phantom Clowns and Stalking Clowns events.

Channel WCSH6/NBC TV's Katie Bavoso reports live from the Phantom Clown exhibit at the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

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Classic Phantom Clowns Cases: Pre-2016

The following is my chronological analysis of past "Phantom Clowns" flaps, from 1981 until the beginning of the current 2016 "epidemic," as Wikipedia entitles it..  The phrase "Phantom Clowns" was coined by me (Loren Coleman) based on my research on the first major wave in 1981. It was initially used in my 1982 article of with that title, in the Chicago-based national publication, Fate Magazine, before appearing in subsequent books, including the 1983 compilation pictured above.

The comic book, Scooby Doo Where Are You!, Gold Key #9, from Hanna-Barbera, "Phantom Clown," appeared in 1971, as I would discover decades after I independently coined the phrase for the 1981 mystery abduction phenomenon.

(Please note, this list does not include the "Stalking Clowns" events that also have been reported in recent years. See "Phantom Clowns: Classified" for the definitions separating "Phantom Clowns" from "Stalking Clowns.")

All the following are reports of non-photographed, uncaught clowns sighted by children and reported to be attempting to abduct or "bother" children.


1981, May:

Massachusetts
Brookline - two clowns - black older van, ladder on side, one headlight broken
Boston (Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) - men in clown suits - black van
East Boston - clowns - vans
Charlestown - clowns - vans
Cambridge - clowns - vans
Canton - clowns - vans
Randolph - clowns - vans
"other cities" near Boston - clowns - vans

Rhode Island
Providence - clowns - vans

Kansas
Kansas City - a clown in a black shirt with a devil on it, black pants with candy canes down the side of each leg, with a sword - yellow van

Missouri
Kansas City - a clown with a knife - yellow van (six different school; 12 incidents)

Nebraska
Omaha - clowns  - vans

Colorado
Denver - clowns - vans

1981, June:

Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh (Hill District) - two clowns - van
Pittsburgh (Garfield neighborhood, Allegheny Cemetery) -  rabbit-costumed individual - blue van
Arlington Heights - clown, costumed characters - vehicle

Story stayed out of the national news until this Associated Press story of June 11, 1981.

Source for 1981 cases: Loren Coleman, Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures, Chapter, "Phantom Clowns" (Boston & London: Faber & Faber, 1983; New York: Paraview, 2001; New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007); Fate Editors’ The World’s Strangest Stories, “Phantom Clowns,” (Chicago: Clark Publishing, 1983).

1985, March: 

Arizona

Phoenix - clowns

1991, June:

New Jersey

South/West Orange - clown - van

Belleville - clown with a machete and an Uzi machine gun - van

Source for 1985 and 1991 cases: Jan Harold Brunvand, "Someone Keeps Sending in the Phantom Clowns," Deseret News, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 9, 1991.

1991:

Scotland - clown - blue van

Source for 1991 case: Sandy Hobbs and David Cornwell, "Killer Clowns and Vampires: Children's Panics in Contemporary Scotland," in Supernatural Enemies (Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2001).

1995, October:

Honduras
Tegucigalpa - clowns - ambulances/cars
San Pedro Sula - clowns - ambulances/cars

Source for 1995 case: Gillian Bennett, Bodies: Sex, Violence, Disease, and Death in Contemporary Legend (Oxford: University of Mississippi Press, 2005).

2000, June:

Wisconsin

Fitchburg - clown in blackface - on foot, luring into woods

Source for 2000 case: Loren Coleman, Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures, Chapter, "Phantom Clowns" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2007).

2008, October:

Illinois
Chicago (South Side, Wicker Park) - a clown - white or brown van

Source for 2008 case: Loren Coleman, "Phantom Clowns Are Back," October 17, 2008.


2012, April:

Idaho
Idaho Falls - clown - red SUV

Source for 2012 case: Loren Coleman, "Idaho Phantom Clown Incident," April 28, 2012.


2012, December:

New York
Red Hook - man in black ski mask - van

Source for 2012 case: Loren Coleman, "Red Hook's Mask + Van Incident," December 28, 2012.

2015, October:

England
Kent - clown - van

Source for 2015 case: Benjamin Radford, Bad Clowns (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 2016); Loren Coleman, "Phantom Clowns of 2015, Copycats of 1981?" (October 19, 2015).

Creepy Clown Considerations

The Daily Mail mapped out what clown reports they had gathered, as of October 1, 2016. There are many more than these.

Thirty-five years ago, the phrase "Phantom Clowns" was added to my twilight language lexicon, when the actual "Phantom Clowns" appeared in America. I wrote about them, in depth, in Mysterious America. 

For those who have been wondering about my recent silence, in the midst of these days of heightened clown sightings, a word or two.

I have been traveling for weeks now, giving talks at conferences and festivals. While my presentations have centered on cryptozoological subjects, people have often wanted to discuss the epidemic of clown appearances. I am keenly aware this is a topic of interest to many folks.

My journeys have taken me from Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Niagara Falls, New York, and then on to Minerva, Ohio, as well as from the Berkshires of Massachusetts to upcoming events in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I have watched with much interest the explosion in the "Phantom Clowns" incidents, and the confusion by the media with the "Stalking Clowns" accounts.

I need to be in one location (home in Portland, Maine) to analyze, track, and compile what has been happening. Please be patient with me. I will get to this important work.

I have kept in reserve some contributions that I will use from a few of you, including links being sent my way.

The input has been overwhelming. For example, reportedly, there are 30 sites in Ohio alone where "clowns" of one kind or another have been "sighted."

Vocativ's image of a "Phantom Clown" may be a bit too cheery, compared to the luring clowns reported.

There are also accounts of a deadly school shooting, a clown-related death, and perhaps harm done to someone in a clown costume. Is there a predictive link between the clowns and school violence? I hope to capture some newsworthy items here, in the near future, and ponder their linkages.

Rolling Stone's horrific "Phantom Clown" image is much scarier than most descriptions of the "real" ones seen.

I have also noticed that the alternative and mainstream media - Atlas Obscura, Seeker,  Vocativ, Washington Post, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Reason, The Conversation, Quartz, and others - have jumped in with overview "Phantom Clowns" articles, often quoting me.

I am grateful that there has been all due acknowledgment of my 1981 coining of the phrase "Phantom Clowns," and the realization that the 1981 cases came a half-decade before Stephen King's IT, published in 1986.

It is intriguing to read that I "came up with something called “The Phantom Clown Theory,” which attributes the proliferation of clown sightings to mass hysteria (usually sparked by incidents witnessed only by children)." Source, The Conversation, September 28, 2016.

Credit: J. D. Crowe

Also, there does seem to be a growing awareness that the "coincidence" of these clown sightings in this 2016 election year may, indeed, be synchromystic.