In Advance of Halloween

One new trend? The creepy clown sightings.  Apparently, there are those who dress as a clown (or, wear just a clown wig/mask) and try to show up in unlikely places to frighten people.


Today, Puyallup School District closed two schools because of threats made against students at those schools, allegedly by "creepy clowns."

As well in Kentucky, a woman who was wearing a white afghan and walking her dog had a guy fire a warning shot in the air near her.  (His neighborhood had incidents of criminal activity by people dressed as clowns.  When people are fearful - and there is a phobia of clowns called coulrophobia - they do dumb things.)

Put "clown crime" into Google and you can see this is a rapidly expanding phenomena. 

Something to consider when your child picks a costume this Halloween.

Update: from SPS Communications

The Seattle School District has been contacted by a number of individuals concerned about an ongoing national social media trend related to “Scary Clowns.” There have been a few local news stories related to this and some of our students have received pictures of clowns. We are communicating to families to remind you and your student that if they see suspicious individuals while at school, please have them inform their teacher or principal immediately. We also ask you to report any threatening social media activity that involves Seattle Public Schools or our students to your school or the district’s Safety and Security Office at (206) 252-0707. This office is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. 

We take safety seriously, and the security of our students is a top priority. We are working closely with Seattle Police Department to investigate all concerns related to this social media trend.