Dressing in costume, playing pranks, telling scary stories, attending spooky parties and trick-or-treating for candy are all part of traditional Halloween fun.

The reported “creepy clown” sightings over the last two months across the country, which are being fueled by social media, are not a new Halloween phenomenon.

In an Oct. 9 New York Post article titled “Creepy clown trend dates back to ’80s, but this time it’s different,” by Dean Balsamini and Melkorka Licea, Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist and author of the book “Mysterious America” said, “While the clown craze is disturbing, it’s mostly harmless and nothing new.”

“He traced the phenomenon to Massachusetts in 1981, when children reported evil clowns attempting to lure them into vans,” the article stated.

“Soon after, the ‘phantom clowns,’ as Coleman calls them, turned up in Providence, R.I., Kansas City, Mo., Omaha, Neb., Denver, Colo., and Pittsburgh.

“Coleman said today’s creepy clown epidemic is a product of social media, copycats, mainstream media and mass hysteria,” according to the article. “Plus, with the Halloween season looming and a remake of the Stephen King horror film ‘It’ out next year, prankster clowns are in the zeitgeist.”

Stephen King, on Oct. 3, tweeted “Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria - most of them are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.”

The current creepy clown sightings began Aug. 29 with a person wearing a clown costume lurking around an apartment complex in an attempt to lure children into the woods in Greenville County, S.C.

Since then, there have been sightings reported in more than 20 states.

These sightings have led some juveniles to make clown threats on social media, leading to school closures in some states and arrests.

Locally, a 14-year-old boy was charged Oct. 7 with making threats against Liberty and Freedom high schools in Bethlehem.

In Reading, a 16-year-old girl is being detained in a juvenile detention facility after she was arrested Oct. 13 for posting threatening clown messages on social media against schools in Berks County.

According to South Whitehall Township Police Chief John Christman, there has been one creepy clown report in South Whitehall.

Police officers who responded could not locate anyone wearing a rainbow-colored wig.

“It is the Halloween season, and we can expect people to wear costumes, but we do not expect creepy clown activity here in the township,” Christman said.

According to Upper Macungie Township Police Chief Edgardo Colon, there have been no reported (creepy clown) sightings of this type of behavior or cause for alarm in Upper Macungie Township or Lower Macungie Township, which is in the jurisdiction of State Police Troop M, Fogelsville.

This recent craze of deviants dressing up as creepy clowns are giving smiling, entertaining and legitimate working clowns, such as the Lehigh Valley’s own Pitstop the Clown, a bad rap.

Harold Reitz, aka Pitstop, spoke to The Press about the sightings.

“The creepy clown sightings are not the best for clowning,” Ritz said. “But it has not affected my business.

“I have had families telling their children I am not one of the creepy clowns that are scaring people. This is a nice, good and friendly clown,” Ritz said.

Don’t let creepy clown sightings and social media hysteria ruin your Halloween fun.

If you see anything suspicious this Halloween season, call 911 and let the local police investigate.

Susan Bryant

editorial assistant

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press