By Michelle Haas, Staff Writer
Clowns running wild across the United States seems like something out of a movie, but as Halloween fast approaches, it hits a little too close to home.
There have been recent “clown sightings” in Penn-Trafford and Kennywood that have sparked some action into the students and staff of P-T. However, are these clowns just pranksters looking to get some attention, or people with genuine malicious intent?
At Municipal Fields in Penn Township, there was a recent disturbance. According to high school assistant principal Amy Kelly, who had talked to the police about the situation, there were two girls who had called the police. No one was hurt, and the police went down to investigate.
“I am very frightened of clowns to begin with. I think people are capitalizing on that fear,” Kelly said.
This is not the only situation that has happened around this area, however. A student at Penn-Trafford works at Kennywood, which is currently running “Fright Nights” which features actors who dress in costumes. Recently, a clown appeared outside a theater at Kennywood wearing a “cheap clown mask.”
“We knew it wasn’t an actor. We called public safety and everything turned out to be fine. It was clear he was using the mask to get a rise out of people,” senior and Kennywood employee Monica Pribanic said. No one was hurt, and public safety quickly handled the issue.
In a situation like this, it may be easy for someone working there to tell the difference between actors and those who are not, but those attending may not. This situation may arise on Halloween. How can you know a “killer clown” from someone who is just having fun and getting into the Halloween spirit?
Kelly agreed that it is the “perfect opportunity” for something bad to happen.
“What concerns me most is kids thinking it would be funny, and then end up getting hurt or arrested,” Kelly said.
As assistant principal, she and the rest of the high school staff is making sure that the students of P-T are safe. The school is always locked down when it is supposed to be, and no one can get in that should not. She said she believes the staff is aware of the clown situation and what to look for to protect everyone. However, when it comes to Trick or Treating, there is only so much she, and the staff, can do.
She recommends making sure you “always have your phones on you and to contact the police if anything is wrong.”
This clown frenzy has actually begun to affect big businesses like Target and McDonalds.
According to the LA times, Target has stopped selling clown costumes and masks on their website, and in most of their stores. Other Halloween stores are similarly boxing up clown costumes, regarding that it isn’t worth the sale.
According to Fox News, McDonalds is also having Ronald McDonald keep a low profile due to these clown pranks. Their mascot will appear less in community events.
The sudden appearance of so many clowns begs the question, why now? There have been no recent clown horror movies to inspire so much attention to clowns. The reasoning Pribanic gives is along the lines of a joke run wild.
“I think now people are dressing as clowns to get attention. Not to say what happened at the start wasn’t real, but now it’s more of a joke. They just want to get a rise out of people,” Pribanic said.
Regardless of whether or not the clowns are just pranks, it is recommend you be safe during Halloween.
Pribanic added, “I think the truth is, anyone can attack you. They don’t need to be wearing a clown mask, and maybe people are what we really should fear.”