Andrew Crighton
News Editor
‘Creepy’ clowns are a growing national trend. Starting on the east coast there have been reports of people dressing up as clowns who have stared down women, followed people and knocked on doors. Things escalated when in South Carolina a clown allegedly tried to lure children into the woods with candy and money outside of an apartment complex. Reports of clowns walking around brandishing weapons and posting on social media about waiting outside schools to take children followed. And now they’re in Idaho, but are they the same type of clowns?
Brianna Mobley is an ISU student and resident of Bengal Creek Student Community apartments. She had a first-hand experience with some clowns who were walking around the complex on Tuesday, October 4.
Mobley came to home to find that she was locked out of her apartment. After calling a roommate to come back and unlock the door, she decided to wait on the step outside of her door.
“I got off the phone, looked out one way and there was like a group of them in front of the club house.”
Mobley decided to walk down to her car, and lock herself inside. That’s when the group of three dressed in full clown costumes saw her and started to follow her towards her car. Once she unlocked her car and the lights came on, they let her be. Later that night, Mobley could hear them walking around laughing and banging on doors.
In Mobley’s opinion, the whole clown fad started as a joke and just went a little too far.
As for rumors that there have been clown sightings on campus, ISU Public Safety did not respond within print deadline. Mobley reported the clowns to Bengal Creek management the next day, and was told to call the police if she saw them again.
When friends asked why she didn’t call the police that night, she said it was because she didn’t feel in danger.
“It’s not like they were carrying guns…I was just scared.”
Although she doesn’t like the clowns being around, she feels that most, if not all of them here are just college kids or teenagers who want to give themselves some laughs.
“They’re just trying to scare you, and it’s October. I mean, I don’t like it at all, it’s freaky but it’s not illegal [to walk around in a clown suite].”
In a statement given by Lieutenant Ian Nelson of the Pocatello Police Department, that may not necessarily be true. People found pulling these pranks could face criminal charges of disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct.
If recent costume sales can be of any indication, there may not be many copy cats out for the rest of this month.
An employee of one of the local Halloween stores, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the sales of clown masks and costumes has not really changed from previous years. If anything, sales have gone down.
