Horror clown phenomenon

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Example of a terrible clown

The horror clown phenomenon is a wave of horror clown sightings that have been taking place since the 1980s, beginning in the USA . These are people who dress in creepy clown costumes to scare others .

In the mid-2010s, they were reported in various other countries. The reports were increasingly picked up by the media, although not all sightings were confirmed and many could be attributed to hysteria or targeted false reports. This applies in particular to the initial phase of the 2016 wave of sightings, so that there are elements of an urban legend , which, however, has become independent through imitators and has thus also become a real phenomenon.

Subsequently, cases became known in which horror clowns had committed acts of violence or criminal threats, or violence against clowns; people also gathered for a hunt after alleged clown sightings.

The temporal connection with Halloween is confirmed by both science and the regulatory authorities. Along with the horror clown phenomenon, various videos are circulating on internet portals in which clowns are shown frightening people.

Designation and delimitation

In public, the horror clown is also referred to as a horror clown , creepy clown or killer clown . The umbrella organization for clowns in medicine and care in Germany calls for a conceptual demarcation on the grounds that they are “confused people who only want to live out their destructive tendencies in this poor way”. The association suggested using the term "grin grin" as a demarcation. Professional clowns also fear for their reputation and are trying to improve their image again in a #ClownLivesMatter campaign based on the Black Lives Matter movement .

Origins

For the historical development and creation of characters and concepts for the evil clown see article Böser Clown .

Sightings and incidents

Places and individual cases

There have been repeated sightings for several years, especially in the USA . The phenomenon spread temporarily in other countries such as Canada , Great Britain , France , Germany , Austria and Switzerland .

In 2013, a student in Northampton , UK, repeatedly disguised himself as an "evil clown" and appeared in various parts of the city. These clown sightings were picked up in the media around the world.

In 2014, scary clowns repeatedly appeared in public in France. The clowns sometimes carried fake weapons, but also real knives, baseball bats or, in one case, a pistol. Sometimes there were violent attacks by clowns. The police also picked up armed people who tried to hunt down clowns.

In early August 2016, a person wearing a clown mask performed in Greenville , South Carolina . Since then, the phenomenon has spread again in the United States. Additional incidents were reported around the world in the months that followed.

After alleged sightings of horror clowns were reported at Pennsylvania State University on October 3, 2016 , hundreds of students gathered to "hunt clowns". But no clowns could be found.

In mid-October was in Sweden stabbed a teenager by a person in clown mask and in Wesel threatened two young men from a perpetrator in clown mask with gun and knife. In Gelsenkirchen , two horror clowns injured a deaf man with a knife and fled. In Rostock, a perpetrator masked as a horror clown attacked a teenager with a baseball bat and injured him. In another incident, also in Rostock, a horror clown wearing a mask ran up to a teenager and threatened him with a knife. In mid-October the severity and scope of the incidents in Germany increased and extensive media coverage began. Several physical injuries and one arson were committed using the horror clown's mask.

As the media and the police reported, on October 24, 2016 in Berlin, a 16-year-old disguised as a clown was stabbed by a 14-year-old acquaintance whom he wanted to scare. The injured man noted in a press interview that he was disguised as a vampire and that his acquaintance had been “hunting clowns” with a group.

time

A spokesman for the German Police Union made public statements about the locations and at the time of the sightings. Accordingly, the trend was particularly noticeable around Halloween in large cities.

Number of sightings in Germany in 2016

In just a few days, the police registered 110 cases in North Rhine-Westphalia alone. On October 26, 2016, the police authorities announced a number of 370 cases at the request of the German Press Agency. The Internet magazine Follow Up questioned the State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia six months after the reports had subsided. According to this, the officials had registered a total of 415 cases in October and November 2016, but no more from mid-November 2016.

Effects

Regulatory consequences

In Germany, the regulatory authorities feared copycat acts, so the Berlin police issued a warning. Another problem for the authorities arose from a trend on social media. Accordingly, fake reports were published in connection with reports and sightings , which made the number of sightings appear greater than it was. According to Mimikama , an Internet abuse education initiative, there were more false reports online than real sightings and criminal charges; Mimikama spoke in this context of "fear bullshit". By October 21, 2016, the initiative claims to have found 400 false reports on clown sightings on social media alone. In the US, no video posted on social media is reported to show a real clown attack.

Creation of states of fear and change of image of the clown

In the USA, parents in particular expressed concern, as a few perpetrators disguised as clowns tried to lure children into the forest and several students were threatened online.

In order not to frighten children any further, according to the Association of German Circus Companies, many professional clowns refrain from masking, especially the white complexion, and rely on funny clothing. Behind this is the fear that the clown will generally turn into an "object of fear". The award-winning clown Tonito from the Krone Circus is an example of this opinion . He indicates the original idea of ​​the figure. He sees the clown as a "gift to mankind" and to the "dearest people in the world" who give joy. He also highlights the optical characteristics. The “right clown colors” are red, white and black. All other colors are "Halloween - or just horror". The Rote Nasen (Clowndoctors) campaign, which has encouraged gigs in children's hospitals in many European countries, also saw its work at risk.

Legal effects

Frightening passers-by is a criminal offense in Great Britain. In Germany this is generally not the case, however, regulatory and judicial authorities often infer a criminal offense from the effects. As far as the fright deliberately makes the victim feel unwell, the offense of bodily harm can be fulfilled. The threats with a weapon can with one year imprisonment penalties, scaring motorists as a dangerous encroachment on the road five years. Furthermore, in the case of corresponding behavior, there may be a nuisance to the general public , which can be punished with a fine , cf. Section 118 OWiG.

The Würzburg district court sentenced two teenage girls for dangerous bodily harm to compensation for pain and suffering and to do social hours, who had frightened a woman in Güntersleben in Lower Franconia at night out of boredom wearing creepy clown masks . The mother has since suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder .

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Recklinghausen District Court convicted a couple from Datteln , who in October 2016 - wearing a clown and a skull mask - jumped out onto the street several times and sometimes hit the bonnet of the car for dangerous interference with road traffic . Witnesses reported at the trial that the masked people behaved “like mad”. One said that he had experienced the "sheer horror". The 35-year-old woman was sentenced to six months' probation and her 29-year-old boyfriend was fined 1,000 euros.

Other consequences

The fast food company McDonald’s drastically restricted the appearances of its advertising character Ronald McDonald in the USA due to the events . In response, the department store chains Kaufhof and Karstadt took “horror clown” masks and costumes out of their range. The Belantis amusement park near Leipzig banned clown costumes during Halloween celebrations on its premises.

Scientific discourse

According to the assessment of the psychologist Jens Hoffmann from the Institute of Psychology and Threat Management in Darmstadt, "the horror [...] has a long tradition, especially on Halloween". This has now "become independent" (in the course of the 2016 wave of sightings) and there is a "great imitation effect". Lars Gräßer from the Grimme Institute in Marl classifies the media reporting in a differentiated way: "In many cases the hype was nonsense," Gräßer told the Internet magazine Follow Up. Gräßer understands the horror clowns as part of the internet phenomenon of the pranks - sometimes questionable pranks that are filmed using the hidden camera principle and posted online. Most of the time, things like that stayed online. “It was only when the big media brands picked up the phenomenon that it became hype.” However, the media scholar does not believe that the media reports provoked the deeds in the first place.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Horror clowns cause horror: The abysses behind the clown mask In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of November 3, 2016
  2. ↑ Melissa Chan: Everything You Need to Know About the 'Clown Attack' Craze. In: Time. Retrieved October 25, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b Aja Romano: The great clown panic of 2016 is a hoax. But the terrifying side of clowns is real. In: Vox. Retrieved October 25, 2016 .
  4. ↑ [1] Mimikama.at, accessed on October 25, 2016
  5. ^ A b Titus Arnu: Attacks in Germany: Scary clowns are spreading threateningly . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on October 23, 2016]).
  6. ↑ bec: The police probably know the man behind the mask. September 25, 2015, accessed October 26, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Why I am a 'killer clown'. In: BBC. Retrieved October 25, 2016 .
  8. ↑ a b Sarah Kumpf (video): Horror-clown-hysteria on the Internet. ( Memento of the original from October 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: tagesschau.de, October 24, 2016, accessed October 24, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tagesschau.de
  9. ↑ a b horror clown - Berlin police warn imitators. In: morgenpost.de. Retrieved October 23, 2016 .
  10. ^ "Creepy Clowns" sighted in the canton of Zurich. In: landbote.ch. Retrieved October 23, 2016 .
  11. ↑ British police warn of "killer clowns". In: tz.de. October 10, 2016, accessed October 21, 2016 .
  12. ↑ More and more incidents with horror clowns in the USA. In: salzburg24.at. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  13. ↑ British police warn against "killer clowns". In: tz.de. October 10, 2016, accessed October 21, 2016 .
  14. ↑ a b "Collective Hysteria" in France: The fear of the horror clowns. In: Spiegel Online. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  15. ↑ By Celine Trachsel: Psychological photos emerged: The clown terror has reached Switzerland! Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  16. ↑ This is the mysterious Northampton clown. In: Spiegel Online. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Felicitas Kock: Mysterious attacks in France: Who is afraid of the evil clown? In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on October 21, 2016]).
  18. ↑ Clowns "agressifs» et «effrayants": the dizaines d'Interpellations. In: Le Monde. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
  19. ↑ USA: Horror clowns are up to mischief in neighborhoods. In: look. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  20. ^ Melissa Chan: Penn State Students Flood Streets to Hunt for Clowns. In: Time. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
  21. ↑ Jessica McBride: Penn State Creepy Clowns: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know. In: heavy.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Young stabbed down: horror clowns terrorize Sweden. In: n-tv.de. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  23. ↑ Shock phenomenon from the USA: The first horror clown threatens passers-by in Germany. In: Focus Online. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  24. ↑ Horror clowns attack the deaf with a knife in Gelsenkirchen. In: Focus Online. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  25. ↑ Attacks in Rostock: thugs in clown costume injure teenagers. In: Spiegel Online. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
  26. ↑ Scary clowns scare Germany: Now the first cars are burning. In: Focus Online. Retrieved October 22, 2016 .
  27. ↑ Press report horror clown stabbed by 14-year-old
  28. ↑ Police report from October 25, 2016, Steglitz - Zehlendorf, No. 2650: Not funny at all. In: berlin.de. Retrieved October 27, 2016 .
  29. ↑ Horror-Clown-Hysteria: A boy disguised as a vampire is stabbed. In: BZ Retrieved October 27, 2016 .
  30. ↑ More and more horror clowns are scaring people. In: mdr.de. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016 ; accessed on October 23, 2016 .
  31. ↑ a b Politicians warn "horror clowns". In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
  32. ↑ dpa: Horror clowns: 370 cases already reported in Germany. October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
  33. ↑ Horror clowns in court . In: Follow Up . May 14, 2017 ( followup-magazin.de [accessed May 15, 2017]).
  34. ↑ Fakes are buzzing around: Giant circus around the horror clowns. In: heute.at. DJ Digitale Medien GmbH, accessed on April 12, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Halloween 2016 and the horror or killer clowns. In: mimikama.at . October 22, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
  36. ↑ Clown reports in connection with the website: 24aktuelles.com. In: mimikama.at. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
  37. ↑ a b USA: Ronald McDonald now has a compulsory break . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on October 21, 2016]).
  38. ↑ Clown attacks keep the circus association busy . In: fr-online.de . ( fr.de [accessed on October 24, 2016]).
  39. ↑ Mittelbayerische.de: Clown free riders fuel fear . In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung . ( Mittelbayerische.de [accessed October 24, 2016]).
  40. Jump up ↑ Crime: Sad Clowns - Professionals get mad at scary attacks. More and more circuses do without. ( Memento from October 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: Die Zeit online, October 24, 2016 - with statements from Dieter Seeger (Association of German Circus Companies), Claus Gieschen (Association of Red Noses Germany).
  41. ↑ "Creepy Clowns" - this trend endangers the work of thousands of highly professional artists ( Memento from October 27, 2016 in the web archive archive.today ) Press release, Red Noses international (undated, October 2016, accessed October 26, 2016).
  42. ↑ Frank Menke / Dominik Reinle / Rainer Striewski: Tough action against "scary clowns". In: wdr.de. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016 .
  43. ↑ http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/mindelheim/Wenn-der-Gaertner-zum-Grusel-Clown-wird-id39543567.html
  44. ↑ Horror Clown Trial: Girls convicted of dangerous physical harm. Focus Online, May 3, 2017
  45. ^ "Horror clowns" sentenced to probation and a fine. Süddeutsche Zeitung , June 9, 2017, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  46. ↑ Karstadt is removing horror clown masks from its range. In: welt.de. October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016 .
  47. ↑ Crime: New clown attacks with baseball bat and chainsaw . In: The time . October 21, 2016, ISSN  0044-2070 ( online [accessed October 24, 2016]). Crime: New clown attacks with baseball bat and chainsaw ( Memento from October 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  48. ↑ Horror clowns in court . In: Follow Up . May 14, 2017 ( followup-magazin.de [accessed May 15, 2017]).