One of the most recent clown sighting in Utah, was on October 18, in Plain City, Utah. Creepy clown sightings have been traced all the way back to the 1980’s, but recently it has blown up everywhere. This is attributed to social media and the ‘Phantom Clown Theory’. The ‘Phantom Clown Theory’ is a term coined by Loren Coleman after events in 1980 that are incredibly similar to today’s creepy clown sightings. “The theory is attributed to the proliferation of clown sightings to mass hysteria. This is usually sparked by incidents witnessed only by children.” Said Frank T. McAndrew, writer for CNN News.

The first clown sighting of 2016 was by a little boy in the backyard of an apartment complex in South Carolina. According to Matthew Teague, writer for the Guardian, the little boys mother said that the two clowns the little boy saw were trying to “lure him to the house”, the house referring to an old run down house in the woods behind the apartment complex. According to the little boys mother, the two clowns also hit the back door with a chain, chipping the paint on the door, but as soon as she walked out of the apartment to confront the clowns, the two ran off. However, when Teague went into the woods to check for the clowns, there was no sign that there were even any clowns in the first place.

Ravyn Grundvig, a homeschooled teen and aspiring artist, when asked about the creepy clown craze, said that it was “…absolutely ridiculous. They have no reasons and it’s scary to be honest.” However, while in 1980 reasons may have been just to scare and people, now, reasons may be to gain followers and attention on social media.

What would you do or tell a family member to do when confronted by a creepy clown? When asking Sarah Macklin, an avid foodie and blogger, this question, she said “Scream. Run. Probably what everyone else would do” And when asking what she would tell a family member to do, she said, “I would probably tell them to bring some form of defense with them to keep themselves safe” However, this response brings up a question of its own; Are these clowns of any danger to us? The answer to that question would most likely be no.

Although the first clown sighting may have been in the United States, BBC News reports that it has spread across the globe. The countries with the most clown sightings being the United States, the UK, France, and Ireland.

According to police reports of the first two weeks of October of 2016, in Norwich, the United Kingdom, a 30-year-old man was arrested and cautioned after jumping out from behind a tree and scaring a 14-year-old girl, while he was dressed like a creepy clown. In California, a college student was arrested on campus after chasing kids around the college campus dressed like a clown, wielding a fake chainsaw. And, in Australia, a 14-year-old boy was arrested after trying to scare his mother and little sister after following them around the neighborhood while dressed as a clown and wielding a knife. While some the Creepy Clowns may just be doing this attention, we may never know what they’re truly doing all of this for.