Deep down, people are afraid of their nightmares becoming reality. Each person has a different, personal version of their own scary nightmare. Whether your worst nightmare includes clowns, dolls, or zombies, people hope these characters stay in your haunted dreams and out of reality.

In late August of this year, nightmares became reality for many residents of the Fleetwood Manor Apartment Complex in Greenville. The residents claimed to have seen disturbing people dressed as clowns luring children into the woods and eventually kidnapping them. With Halloween around the corner, it was only a matter of weeks before the story became a national phenomenon. People across the nation are filled with both fear and curiosity regarding these clowns, causing some to leave their homes and go clown hunting. Photos and videos of clowns all over the country surfaced on social media with the clowns being anything but funny. Some pranksters dressed as “killer clowns” ran after innocent strangers in empty parking lots and dark parking garages. Some strangers ran for their lives while others took the vicious pranks to the next level. There are videos throughout the internet of pranks gone wrong. Some people dressed like the clowns were beaten to death by the the furious strangers.

There was one incident where a clown was pulling a prank near a house with a family inside. The cops came to the house and the two clowns were arrested that night. As the number of these clown pranks increases, they are becoming more and more violent. What started off as clowns illegally kidnapping children has turned into a viral prank. The prank may seem all fun and games, but recently, there have been some serious, illegal consequences to the disturbing prank. With all the recent clown pranks, some states are considering legalizing the ability to shoot any clown on site. Other states, such as Utah are against this law because “you can not just shoot any clown you see” (Atlas Obscura). Cops are complaining about receiving phone calls from scared citizens that have been part of a clown prank. These phony pranks waste the cops’ precious time. Therefore, the cops can now arrest any clown that is part of a cruel prank.

Some Christ Church students are taking part in the clown hunting. Sophomore Janie Schmitt decided to share her thrilling experience clown hunting with friends. Schmitt stated, “we went to an abandoned field and went clown hunting. There were no clowns, but it was still an extremely scary, traumatic experience.”

Not only is the clown hysteria affecting teenagers’ safety, but it is also affecting the innocent children of America. There have been rumors that Ronald McDonald was recently taken off the public scene for the time being. The iconic clown decided to keep a low profile because of all of the shootings and arrests regarding clowns. The actors who portray Ronald McDonald are hesitant to be seen in public with various kids because their lives could be in danger.

Ronald McDonald was not the only clown out of a job. Professional clowns are losing their clientele due to the fact that many mothers will not let their child go near a clown. The professional clowns have families and homes and can no longer support them. The clowns took a stand and declared to the world that the clown hunting is destroying their lives and there will be consequences. The clowns were not clowning around as just recently there has been the protest of how “Clown Lives Matter”.

For now, it may be a good idea to be wary of clowns because the clown’s outfits may not be a costume, their intentions may not be a joke, and most importantly they may not just be clowning around.