A scary clown was spotted making rare appearances in the town of Northampton, England, to creep people out, Global News reported Tuesday.
The creepy clown, dressed in a custom similar to Stephen King's Pennywise, the killer clown in 'IT,' is now dubbed as the "Northampton Clown" as he eerily make nocturnal sightings without harassing, attacking, or threatening anyone, and he is even reportedly snapping photos for everyone.
Last Friday the 13th, a Facebook page was set up called "Spot Northampton's Clown" featuring photos of the evil-looking clown posing at different locations within the city, and someone who claimed to be the man behind the frightening clown has been posting updates and notes saying that he is mainly harmless and he simply wants to have fun.
Because the prank has gone viral, a second man dubbed "Boris the Clown Catcher," another man dressed in "blue muscle-padded superhero costume and glasses," has appeared on the same streets as if he were in a real mission to catch the devious clown. Many speculated that Boris is the Northampton Clown himself, adopting the role of both villain and hero to intensify the social media prank.
Yahoo! reported that this is not the first time a clown has terrorized a city. Police in Brookline, Massachusetts had issued an all-points bulletin (APB) in May 1981 asking everyone to watch out for a vehicle occupied by child abductors in clown costume. Reports stated that many children have been lured in to the van with a broken headlight and no hubcaps.
The following day, another van reportedly driven by a creepy clown stalking a public park, was being sought, but police came up empty. Because of the said incidents, many parents grew nervous and anxious for their children, leading an official from the Boston Public Schools to issue a memo to principals in his school district.
The memo read: "It has been brought to the attention of the police department and the district office that adults dressed as clowns have been bothering children to and from school. Please advise all students that they must stay away from strangers, especially those dressed as clowns."
Despite searches and strict police checkpoints, the van of frightening clowns was never found, and no evidence on their existence surfaced, leading some to claim that they were merely a product of mass hysteria.
On the other hand, this "Northampton Clown" is real and is definitely creeping a lot of people out especially those with coulrophobia, or fear of clowns.
The clown recently posted a note online announcing his next scheduled appearance.
"I'll be seeing you all very soon (in the day!) but i'm going to lay low for a bit as i have a big surprise for you all hopefully due at the end of the week!! Beep Beep!" the Northampton clown wrote on his Facebook page Tuesday.
Due to the Northampton Clown's popularity on Facebook and on Twitter, many comments flooded the social networking sites, ranging from amused to genuinely afraid.
"I'm scared of clowns though so if I see you I may scream.... But then I will try and say hello; maybe you could say hello nicely back and get me over my silly phobia. I can't even go to a KISS concert lol," one commenter wrote.
