The creepy and disturbing plague of clown sightings in South Carolina began toward the end of August. At first, many believed it was just a case of kids being kids as more and more children at the same apartment complex reported to their parents that clowns were trying to lure them into the surrounding woods with promises of candy and money. However, the sightings continued, got more credible, and were witnessed by adults. Some of the South Carolina clown sightings were so disturbing that those who witnessed them claimed that the clowns had guns.
The seemingly targeted apartment complex, Fleetwood Manor apartments in Greenville, decided to be proactive and choose being safe over being sorry. The property management sent out a letter to residents, telling parents to keep an eye on their children because creepy clowns had been reported lurking in the nearby South Carolina woods.
Fam I don’t know about y’all but if I see a clown in the woods and he says “I got cotton candy”, can’t pass that up. pic.twitter.com/wAnw0ZsIW5
— ? (@Pokefax) August 30, 2016
The local police department began getting calls to come investigate the situation. They took the claims of the South Carolina clown sightings very seriously, but despite repeatedly coming out to the scene, they never found any evidence to substantiate the claims of concerned residents.
When the children told police that the clowns were living in an abandoned house down by a local body of water, police investigated that as well. Unfortunately, the building in question appeared vacant, as though nobody had been there in a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bhO1RYiiH8
“There were allegations that they had seen these clowns with guns, but our investigators responded and didn’t find any shell casings or anything like that. At this point we have not found any information or evidence to corroborate anything. I am not saying it is not true, but we haven’t found any evidence yet.”
Despite the assurances of police that nothing concrete had been found at the scene of the South Carolina clown sightings, parents remained convinced that something real and potentially dangerous was going on. They trusted their children, and began to keep a closer eye on the little ones, particularly when adults began to witness the clown sightings more and more themselves, with some being seen in the woods with laser pointers and the sounds of chains echoing around the complex at night.
“‘Mama, there’s clowns out there in the woods and they’re trying to get us to come out there.’ Some had chains, some had knives, and some were holding out money, saying, ‘Come here, we’ve got candy for you,’ but they wouldn’t go.”
South Carolina Clown Sightings is trending on the #Interweb ? ….. #SouthCarolina #Clowns #SCClownsSightings pic.twitter.com/XwebNg6Sa0
— Old Photos and Bacon (@OldPhotosBacon) September 2, 2016
Then, as suddenly as they’d began, the South Carolina clown sightings seemed to stop. Residents at the apartment complex were no longer seeing the creepy clowns, their children not reporting that clowns were trying to talk them into a jaunt in the woods with promises of candy. Despite the bizarre nature of the South Carolina clown sightings, they appeared to be over.
Until they started to spread.
this is why I encourage a fear of clowns
— emkyj (@emkyj) September 1, 2016
As Fox 8 reports, the South Carolina clown sightings have now been reported at multiple apartment complexes and other neighborhoods and areas of Spartanburg and Greenville counties. Several law enforcement departments are now investigating the sightings. The Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has admitted to the media that they have active, open cases pertaining to the clown sightings. On Thursday, law enforcement in Spartanburg confirmed that they are dealing with at least one sighting, too.
According to the Spartanburg Police Department, they are taking their clown sighting very seriously. It was witnessed by a credible adult woman who reported to law enforcement that she had found a clown standing in her own back yard. She even reportedly got a photo of the clown, but law enforcement said the image quality wasn’t good enough for identification purposes.
The Spartanburg, South Carolina, clown sighting has marked an escalation to a series of events that began with clowns hiding in the woods near one apartment complex and has now turned into clowns reportedly knocking on doors and lurking in backyards.
Residents anxious after clown sightings at South Carolina apartments https://t.co/1N2c81tkMI pic.twitter.com/DRSaXrYJFn
— FOX61 (@FOX61News) August 29, 2016
Police from multiple agencies say that the South Carolina clown sightings are troubling and pose a real challenge for investigators. They are treating each sighting as a suspicious person, but they are collectively claiming that the descriptions of the clowns aren’t good enough to help them identify suspects.
For example, witnesses can’t seem to remember the color of the clowns’ hair, whether they are wearing masks or have painted faces, or the color of their clothes/costumes. No witness has managed to capture a photo or video that clearly shows a clown lurking near their South Carolina home.
In short, police have very little to go on. No crime scene has yielded any physical evidence of a clown being there at all, let alone anything that would help police figure out who could be behind the South Carolina clown sightings.
What do you think is going on? Are the South Carolina clown sightings legit? Are people making things up? Is it mass hysteria? People playing a widespread prank? Or could the South Carolina clown sightings be something more nefarious and supernatural?
[Image via Shutterstock]