WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.820 Hey everyone, Dave here bringing you another 00:00:01.820 --> 00:00:04.139 installment of Interdimensional Swap. This week 00:00:04.139 --> 00:00:05.860 we are bringing you an episode from one of my 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:08.439 favorite shows, Perplexity, a mystery podcast. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.060 It's a show where Kedra the host dives into a 00:00:11.060 --> 00:00:14.419 whole bunch of mysteries, cryptids, aliens, UFOs, 00:00:14.419 --> 00:00:18.699 unsolved mysteries. Weird history. She pretty 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:21.699 much runs the whole gambit. And the show's weird, 00:00:21.739 --> 00:00:23.780 but a lot of fun. It's very thoughtful, very 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:26.460 well -researched and well -delivered. Like I 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:28.339 said, it's one of my favorite shows. I listen 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:31.579 to it a lot. And yeah, if you like what we're 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:33.280 doing over here, you're going to love what they're 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.700 doing over there. So definitely, if you like 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:38.899 what you hear, give them a follow. Give them 00:00:38.899 --> 00:00:41.759 a five -star rating and review. And yeah, so 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.700 with that out of the way, enjoy her telling you 00:00:44.700 --> 00:00:55.780 about one of my biggest fears. Clowns. You are 00:00:55.780 --> 00:01:19.260 listening to Perplexity. Unfortunately, we are 00:01:19.260 --> 00:01:23.239 all familiar with clowns. Known for their colorful, 00:01:23.379 --> 00:01:26.260 oversized costumes and facial features, distinctive 00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:29.879 makeup, and general buffoonery, their purpose 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:34.319 is to induce hearty laughter. This career goes 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:37.000 back thousands and thousands of years and still 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:42.219 persists today. And while many strange people, 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:45.620 in my opinion, enjoy clowns, there are just as 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:49.319 many, if not more, who find clowns to be absolutely 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:55.500 terrifying. So where did clowns come from? Why 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:59.239 are we so scared of them? And should we be scared 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.159 of them? Let's get into it. Today's episode is 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:11.909 all about clowns. Hello, everybody, and welcome 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:14.990 back to another episode of Perplexity, a mystery 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.590 podcast. As always, I am your host, Kaedra. If 00:02:18.590 --> 00:02:21.270 you're new to the show, hello and welcome. I 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:24.330 tell tales every single week that have perplexed 00:02:24.330 --> 00:02:26.550 me. So if you love a good mystery that leaves 00:02:26.550 --> 00:02:29.250 you wanting more, don't worry, you're in the 00:02:29.250 --> 00:02:31.590 right place. And if you end up enjoying today's 00:02:31.590 --> 00:02:34.009 episode, I would love if you continue to follow 00:02:34.009 --> 00:02:36.770 along. If you're a returning listener, hello, 00:02:36.830 --> 00:02:39.530 my friends. Welcome back. So happy you're here. 00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:43.280 I'm really facing my fears today because I love 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:45.879 you guys so much. I don't know what got into 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:49.039 me this week, but I thought let's do an episode 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:53.120 on one of my biggest fears. I have hated clowns 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:56.280 since I was a kid and it has always perplexed 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.699 me. Like what is in someone's psyche to make 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:03.580 them want to dress up and be a clown? And I did 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:06.460 find a lot of things really affirming as to why 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:09.039 I'm scared of clowns from a psychological perspective. 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:12.159 So we will get into all of that. I'm super excited. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.460 I just want to remind everybody really quickly 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:16.139 of a couple things and then we will get started. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.300 So first and foremost, if you have not done so 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:23.780 yet, please continue to tell other people about 00:03:23.780 --> 00:03:26.120 the show. Word of mouth goes a really long way. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:28.719 We are starting to see some growth and that is 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.460 so exciting. And I really, really am so happy 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.360 to have all of these new listeners here. If you 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:37.680 have not left a five -star review on Apple or 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.319 Spotify, if you're not following along on GoodPods, 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:43.039 I found out I'm charting on there. So go check 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.240 out goodpods .com also and help a girl out. But 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:49.360 yeah, five -star reviews go a really long way. 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:51.599 It's how I get new listeners. It boosts me up 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:54.680 the algorithms. And that is a free, super quick 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.819 way to support the show. If you want to support 00:03:57.819 --> 00:04:00.659 the show further, and if you want tons of exclusive 00:04:00.659 --> 00:04:04.500 bonus content, join the Perplexed Society. The 00:04:04.500 --> 00:04:07.139 tiers start at just two bucks a month, and that 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:09.620 gets you early and ad -free episodes. And if 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:13.139 you want to unlock over 70 pieces of bonus content, 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:16.899 then you can check out tiers starting at $5 at 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:20.980 patreon .com slash perplexity mystery podcast. 00:04:21.660 --> 00:04:24.019 I just released my coverage of the Martha Stewart 00:04:24.019 --> 00:04:26.439 documentary, and I have some more things coming 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:29.839 very soon. But tons of fun stuff going on over 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:32.560 there. Texas urban legends, creepy stories from 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:35.699 the internet, some vlogs and like personal stories, 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:38.540 some bonus episodes. It's really whatever you 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.600 guys want. And it is a community. So go check 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.240 that out if that interests you. Trigger warning 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:49.720 for today's episode. I scared myself with this 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:54.430 one. Okay. So this episode might not be for you 00:04:54.430 --> 00:04:58.170 if you have coulrophobia, fear of clowns, like 00:04:58.170 --> 00:05:01.449 me. So listener discretion is advised and all 00:05:01.449 --> 00:05:03.589 the sources that I used for today's episode will 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:08.610 be available down in the show notes. So ready 00:05:08.610 --> 00:05:12.629 or not, let's get into this insane episode all 00:05:12.629 --> 00:05:22.509 about clowns. So the word clown comes from the 00:05:22.509 --> 00:05:26.449 Icelandic word clunny, which means a clumsy person. 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:30.329 And the fear of clowns, something that I 1000 00:05:30.329 --> 00:05:34.750 % have, is known as coulrophobia. The first known 00:05:34.750 --> 00:05:37.970 clown dates all the way back to the fifth dynasty 00:05:37.970 --> 00:05:43.069 of Egypt around 2400 BC. The Egyptians would 00:05:43.069 --> 00:05:45.629 capture other tribes and they would force them 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:48.870 to make up dance routines to entertain their 00:05:48.870 --> 00:05:55.209 kings. Early clowns were also priests. Yeah, 00:05:55.310 --> 00:05:58.430 I know. There wasn't really anything to do back 00:05:58.430 --> 00:06:03.949 then, so I guess they were religious and entertainers. 00:06:03.949 --> 00:06:07.730 They had balance. And I mean, there wasn't a 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:10.230 lot of entertainment back then, so we had clowns, 00:06:10.230 --> 00:06:13.850 I guess. They thought, specifically in Egypt, 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:16.709 that it was really important to have a good laugh. 00:06:16.810 --> 00:06:20.290 It was good for the soul. The earliest ancestors 00:06:20.290 --> 00:06:23.389 of the clowns go back to ancient Greece as well. 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:26.829 And these clowns were distinctively bald and 00:06:26.829 --> 00:06:29.750 they wore a lot of padding. They were known to 00:06:29.750 --> 00:06:32.250 be background characters. They would parody the 00:06:32.250 --> 00:06:34.949 actions of more serious characters in a production, 00:06:35.110 --> 00:06:39.310 kind of like a mime. They were also known to 00:06:39.310 --> 00:06:43.550 sometimes pelt the spectators with nuts. Can 00:06:43.550 --> 00:06:45.189 you imagine just sitting and watching a play 00:06:45.189 --> 00:06:48.500 and a clown is throwing peanuts at you? wild. 00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.279 These clowns also appeared in Rome, except they 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:54.899 wore pointy hats and checkered robes. They were 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:57.379 known as stupidists. They were consistently the 00:06:57.379 --> 00:06:59.819 butt of the jokes. They were privy to abuse from 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:04.040 their fellow actors. And in Rome, if someone 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:07.139 died in your family, it was also common tradition 00:07:07.139 --> 00:07:11.500 to hire a clown for the funeral. It was basically 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:14.139 this mime that would come out and impersonate 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:18.220 the dead person. I'm just really trying to imagine 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:21.300 a funeral where a bunch of people are around 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:25.199 this casket crying over their loved one. And 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:29.060 all of a sudden, a mime just comes out and starts 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:33.040 impersonating the dead person. Like, I don't 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:34.980 even know what I would do. It's like some weird, 00:07:35.019 --> 00:07:39.420 creepy roast. And I've never seen a silent roast. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.680 In the Middle Ages, clowns were also known as 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:47.000 jesters, and they served as royals like servants. 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:50.519 They wore patchwork clothing, and this symbolized 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:53.980 being lower class. But they were allowed to say 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:58.420 whatever they wanted, including being allowed 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:02.600 to get away with making fun of royalty. There 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:05.439 are also other cultures, including Native Americans, 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.449 who viewed clowns as being magical. They were 00:08:09.449 --> 00:08:13.470 deeply intertwined with spirituality, and to 00:08:13.470 --> 00:08:16.170 them, humor was part of the spiritual awakening. 00:08:17.250 --> 00:08:20.629 This clown phenomenon spread to other parts of 00:08:20.629 --> 00:08:23.610 the world, and in the 16th century, clowns became 00:08:23.610 --> 00:08:28.170 very popular in Italy. Masked clowns were very 00:08:28.170 --> 00:08:31.509 popular there, specifically because of a traveling 00:08:31.509 --> 00:08:34.629 Italian theatrical company known as Commedia 00:08:34.629 --> 00:08:38.159 dell 'Arte. They developed one of the most famous 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:41.379 clowns of all time that they called the Arlecino 00:08:41.379 --> 00:08:45.440 or the Harlequin, which might sound familiar. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.080 You know, Harley Quinn. The Harlequin wears a 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.659 checkered costume and is known to be lighthearted, 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:57.139 witty, but they are also a trickster. They cause 00:08:57.139 --> 00:09:00.659 a lot of chaos. In fact, the Harlequin has been 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:03.779 known to trick just about anybody, even the devil 00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:08.779 himself. He's known to wear a black domino mask 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:13.740 and carry a bat or a noisy slapstick, which he 00:09:13.740 --> 00:09:17.720 would frequently use to spank people. Spicy. 00:09:17.820 --> 00:09:21.299 This is where the term slapstick came from. They 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:24.340 would actually put gunpowder on these sticks 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:28.519 or bats, rub it on there, and then when the harlequin 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.580 would slap the bat down, it would make this insanely 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:35.399 loud noise. I didn't know that's where slapstick 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:39.679 came from. Traveling English actors of the 17th 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:41.779 century were responsible for the introduction 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:45.679 of stage clowns to Germany. And one of the really 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:49.860 popular characters here was Pickle Herring. Quite 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:53.019 a name. And Pickle Herring fits the bill for 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:55.720 what we see in our minds when we think of a clown 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:59.799 today. He's got those oversized neck ruffles, 00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:03.000 which are called ruffs, by the way. the big shoes, 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.519 the oversized clothing and hat, and the traditional 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:10.700 white face makeup. This apparently was first 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:13.639 introduced in France with a character called 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:17.620 Pedrolino. He had a bald head and he used flour 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:21.340 to whiten his face. This character came to life 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:24.620 even more in the early 19th century, thanks to 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:27.980 a very creepy looking clown. Pictures will be 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:31.090 on YouTube and in the Instagram. Jean -Baptiste 00:10:31.090 --> 00:10:36.470 Gaspard Devereaux. Devereaux created this sad, 00:10:36.570 --> 00:10:40.450 lovesick, pathetic clown. And the characteristics 00:10:40.450 --> 00:10:43.990 that Devereaux created are still used in the 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:48.830 clown personality today. And fun fact, Devereaux 00:10:48.830 --> 00:10:53.149 also killed a little boy, whacking him in the 00:10:53.149 --> 00:10:56.250 head with a stick after the little boy said something 00:10:56.250 --> 00:10:59.740 to him on the street. He apparently was making 00:10:59.740 --> 00:11:03.320 fun of him and Deborah just whacked him across 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.120 the head, killing him. Whether it was an accident 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:12.919 or not, um, super fucked up. And this kind of 00:11:12.919 --> 00:11:16.100 began the point in my story affirming why I don't 00:11:16.100 --> 00:11:20.080 like clowns. I also found this hilarious Britannica 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.840 article that talked about a bunch of famous clowns. 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:26.840 The most famous clown of all time is Joseph Grimaldi. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:31.179 And we owe thanks or blame to this London, England 00:11:31.179 --> 00:11:33.860 performer because he was the father of modern 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:38.000 clowning. He was the OG circus clown, okay? And 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.980 in the early 1800s, Grimaldi created the character 00:11:40.980 --> 00:11:44.600 Joey, who reportedly was the first clown to wear 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:48.480 white face makeup and paint. He painted the large 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:51.720 red lips, you know? Some clowns that had the 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:54.679 white face, but not all the extra color. And 00:11:54.679 --> 00:11:56.799 he had been clowning since he was two years old. 00:11:56.860 --> 00:11:59.059 He learned all the tricks of the trade from his 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:02.720 abusive, psychotic father. Grimaldi is where 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:06.139 we get the classic clown look from. He also specialized 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:09.159 in classic physical comedy. He would flip around, 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:14.799 he would fake trip, and he used slapstick. But 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:20.059 Grimaldi was also known for being... inappropriate 00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:24.419 with his young female students. He had intimate 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:29.720 relations with them offstage. He did have an 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:33.899 injury during one of his shows. He got a little 00:12:33.899 --> 00:12:36.440 too excited, and he accidentally shot himself 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:40.759 in the foot. Yeah, and this put him out of work 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:43.340 for a month, and by the time he came back, he 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:47.679 had become a drunk. Some people argue he was 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:52.860 the OG sad clown. He also developed severe arthritis 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:56.259 by the time he was 30 because he was doing all 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.379 these insane stunts. He was flipping around all 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:01.899 the time and he was in so much pain after his 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:04.419 performances. He would like give it all he's 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:07.860 got and he would have to have assistants physically 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:12.370 carry him off the stage. Grimaldi also had a 00:13:12.370 --> 00:13:15.570 son who he raised in a similar fashion to how 00:13:15.570 --> 00:13:18.710 he was raised. He wanted him to become part of 00:13:18.710 --> 00:13:22.490 clowning, but things did not end well for his 00:13:22.490 --> 00:13:26.730 son. His son passed away at the young age of 00:13:26.730 --> 00:13:30.830 31, putting Grimaldi down an even darker and 00:13:30.830 --> 00:13:34.850 depressed path. He and his wife actually attempted 00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:39.350 suicide, but both of them survived. Just five 00:13:39.350 --> 00:13:42.370 years later, though, Grimaldi would pass away. 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:48.610 So he really did have a life of tragedy. Another 00:13:48.610 --> 00:13:53.090 famous clown is Oleg Popov. Again, what a name. 00:13:53.490 --> 00:13:55.909 And according to this really funny Britannica 00:13:55.909 --> 00:13:58.350 article, he might be considered the Tom Brady 00:13:58.350 --> 00:14:04.320 of clowns. They said, like the famed NFL quarterback 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.279 whose big break came when he replaced a hurt 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:11.320 teammate, Oleg Popov took the lead when the Moscow 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:15.620 circus's main clown was injured. So the rest 00:14:15.620 --> 00:14:20.159 is history. In 1956, Popov became the head clown 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:22.620 and went on to become one of the most beloved 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:26.419 clowns in the Soviet Union. He was known as the 00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:29.440 Sunshine Clown because he was very optimistic. 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:34.370 Then you had another famous juxtaposition of 00:14:34.370 --> 00:14:37.629 Oleg Popov, another clown. This was Emmett Kelly, 00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:41.370 and Emmett Kelly created the clown Weary Willie, 00:14:41.690 --> 00:14:45.610 another great name. This was a sad clown who 00:14:45.610 --> 00:14:48.309 wore tattered clothes, and arguably his most 00:14:48.309 --> 00:14:51.289 famous routine involved him trying to sweep up 00:14:51.289 --> 00:14:54.889 a spotlight and appearing startled when it disappeared. 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:58.539 So he's the reason we have the sad clown. Then 00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.679 there is a clown pretty much everyone has heard 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.120 of. This fictional character appeared on various 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:07.340 TV shows in the U .S., most notably Bozo's Circus, 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:10.039 later The Bozo Show. So this is Bozo the Clown. 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:14.419 His show premiered in Chicago in 1959. He wore 00:15:14.419 --> 00:15:17.480 fiery red hair. He had a big nose, oversized 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.639 shoes. He was super popular with kids and the 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.299 show went on for a long time. The pictures of 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:27.980 this guy really creep me out. I just, I don't 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:32.720 trust it. And similar to Bozo the Clown, we had 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:36.779 Ronald McDonald, the mascot of McDonald's since 00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:40.340 the early 60s. And Bozo the Clown actually helped 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:45.740 create Ronald McDonald. But he inspired his original 00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:49.559 look, which I had never seen before. And holy 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.440 shit. So Ronald McDonald in his, you know, yellow 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:55.419 jumpsuit, the red hair, everything. That's not 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:58.639 what he used to look like. He, believe it or 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.039 not, looked even scarier before that. Basically, 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:04.500 I guess they were trying to advertise the McDonald's 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:08.399 food. So he had like a giant tray of food on 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:11.659 his head. He had a McDonald's cup as a nose. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:17.620 He had a belt that dispensed hamburgers to children. 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:22.080 Again, these pictures will be on Instagram and 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:25.409 in the YouTube if you dare to look at them. But 00:16:25.409 --> 00:16:28.389 this design didn't go well. It freaked out kids. 00:16:28.649 --> 00:16:32.889 So he got the rebrand that we know today, and 00:16:32.889 --> 00:16:34.950 that's when he became really popular with the 00:16:34.950 --> 00:16:39.110 kids. In the early 21st century, it was estimated 00:16:39.110 --> 00:16:43.149 that more than 95 % of American youth recognized 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:48.519 Ronald McDonald. So he became quite famous. He 00:16:48.519 --> 00:16:51.399 was so popular, in fact, that some people blame 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:54.580 him for contributing to childhood obesity because 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:58.480 he was promoting this unhealthy food at McDonald's. 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:02.279 So now that we know a little bit more about the 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.519 history of clowns and some famous clowns that 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.740 got this all started, I want to lead us to the 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:12.980 next question. Should we be scared of clowns? 00:17:20.750 --> 00:17:25.170 We have to talk about this infamous serial killer, 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:29.710 arguably the most guilty of starting the modern 00:17:29.710 --> 00:17:34.349 trend of evil clowns, John Wayne Gacy. Pretty 00:17:34.349 --> 00:17:36.849 much everybody knows who John Wayne Gacy is, 00:17:36.950 --> 00:17:39.049 and I'm not going to go into too much detail 00:17:39.049 --> 00:17:41.049 because I do eventually want to do like a full 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:45.319 episode on him, but just a brief synopsis. In 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:49.220 the 1970s, John Wayne Gacy brutally murdered 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:53.500 35 people, primarily young men and boys in the 00:17:53.500 --> 00:17:58.180 Chicagoland area. When he wasn't committing these 00:17:58.180 --> 00:18:01.299 horrific murders, Gacy was known to dress up 00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:04.559 as Pogo the Clown, and he would perform at various 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:08.380 charity events and children's parties. And at 00:18:08.380 --> 00:18:11.799 one point, he actually said, quote, clowns can 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.349 get away with murder. But he was convicted in 00:18:15.349 --> 00:18:18.470 1980 and he was executed by lethal injection 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:24.430 in 1994. But Gacy really made people start to 00:18:24.430 --> 00:18:27.130 think twice about these clowns showing up at 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:29.650 your child's birthday party. And around this 00:18:29.650 --> 00:18:33.710 time in 1988, the horror comedy classic Killer 00:18:33.710 --> 00:18:37.710 Clowns hit the screens. This involved evil alien 00:18:37.710 --> 00:18:41.470 clowns. And they came up with very inventive 00:18:41.470 --> 00:18:44.009 ways, we're talking like Final Destination style, 00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:48.069 to kill their victims. Like there was one time 00:18:48.069 --> 00:18:50.809 where they encased a bunch of their victims into 00:18:50.809 --> 00:18:55.410 cocoons made from cotton candy. And then, of 00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:59.049 course, there is Stephen King's Pennywise, who 00:18:59.049 --> 00:19:03.190 really became popular in 1986 when he released 00:19:03.190 --> 00:19:08.519 his horror novel, It. This was an evil, shapeshifting 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:11.480 murderer that was known to kill kids and often 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:15.000 took the appearance of a clown called Pennywise. 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:17.720 And this happened in the fictional town of Derry, 00:19:17.859 --> 00:19:21.500 Maine. Perhaps the most frightening clown of 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:25.980 all time. It is also theorized that Pennywise 00:19:25.980 --> 00:19:30.420 inspired the clown hysteria in the 1980s and 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:35.710 more recently in 2016. There's also the urban 00:19:35.710 --> 00:19:40.250 legend of Sprinkles the Killer Clown. The urban 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:45.509 legend goes something like this. In 1973, a caravan 00:19:45.509 --> 00:19:48.490 of circus performers were making their way across 00:19:48.490 --> 00:19:52.230 the Appalachias. It wasn't a busy part of the 00:19:52.230 --> 00:19:55.390 circus season. It was a bad winter and there 00:19:55.390 --> 00:19:58.450 was a big storm coming. As they rounded the many 00:19:58.450 --> 00:20:01.309 turns coming down the top of the mountains, the 00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:04.349 icy roads finally got the best of the caravan. 00:20:05.089 --> 00:20:08.170 Several cars found their way off the road and 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:11.930 over the hill. One of these vehicles carried 00:20:11.930 --> 00:20:17.890 four clowns and was never found. Several weeks 00:20:17.890 --> 00:20:22.109 later, two of the four clowns were found walking 00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:25.109 down from the mountain with only their pants 00:20:25.109 --> 00:20:28.380 on. They drastically needed medical attention. 00:20:29.619 --> 00:20:32.839 Frostbite from the snowstorm robbed them of many 00:20:32.839 --> 00:20:36.859 of their fingers and toes. After months of receiving 00:20:36.859 --> 00:20:39.559 care, the local police were able to question 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:42.440 the whereabouts of the other two performers from 00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:48.000 the wreck. Their story was grim. The third clown 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.680 had died instantly from the wreck, and the fourth, 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:56.180 known as Sprinkles, used the dead body to feed 00:20:56.180 --> 00:21:00.220 the rest of the clowns. He kept the other two 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.440 clowns tied up like hostages in the wreckage. 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.279 It wasn't until one of the survivors got his 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:09.400 hands free to get the upper hand on Sprinkles 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.980 just long enough that they could make their escape. 00:21:12.839 --> 00:21:16.420 They left Sprinkles laying in an ice -cold stream. 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:19.640 They assumed the icy cold waters would end his 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:24.609 life. But no. According to pictures taken on 00:21:24.609 --> 00:21:28.490 a trail cam in eastern Kentucky, Sprinkles could 00:21:28.490 --> 00:21:32.109 very well still be alive, living out in the woods, 00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:37.509 laying in wait to terrorize more people. These 00:21:37.509 --> 00:21:40.430 photographs did surface online, and again, these 00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:42.769 will be on Instagram and on the YouTube video. 00:21:42.990 --> 00:21:45.430 The photographs are believed to have come from 00:21:45.430 --> 00:21:48.349 somewhere around 2010, maybe a little earlier. 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:52.269 The photos you see are a man in an oversized 00:21:52.269 --> 00:21:55.769 inflatable green and yellow clown costume with 00:21:55.769 --> 00:22:00.069 very large black eyes, a white face, red nose, 00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:05.450 rainbow wig, and oversized shoes staring menacingly 00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:11.279 into the trail cam. And this leads us to the 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:15.299 2016 clown panic, which I briefly talked about 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:17.920 in my mass hysteria episode that I did forever 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.500 ago. I talked about three different examples 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.099 of mass hysteria, but we're going to get into 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:28.440 it in more detail now. So Friday, September 30th, 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:32.279 2016, police in Newcastle would receive a report 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:35.740 of somebody dressed as a creepy clown. He was 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:39.130 leaping out of the bushes and scaring kids. Over 00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:42.009 the next few days, more and more reports trickled 00:22:42.009 --> 00:22:45.250 in. And by the time it was getting close to Halloween, 00:22:45.490 --> 00:22:48.670 October 5th, the tabloids officially announced 00:22:48.670 --> 00:22:53.029 there was a terrifying clown craze sweeping the 00:22:53.029 --> 00:22:56.930 world. Concerned parents began to make Facebook 00:22:56.930 --> 00:22:59.390 pages about the clowns, but this only further 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:03.710 fed into the panic. The Metropolitan Police were 00:23:03.710 --> 00:23:07.410 also advising kids to call 999 if they saw a 00:23:07.410 --> 00:23:11.750 killer clown. This trend arguably became more 00:23:11.750 --> 00:23:15.390 popular when people all over the country started 00:23:15.390 --> 00:23:18.269 dressing up as clowns, allegedly as part of a 00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:23.549 PR stunt, because Stephen King's 1986 horror 00:23:23.549 --> 00:23:28.069 novel, It, was now having a movie come out. You 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:31.150 guys remember? It was a terrifying movie. So 00:23:31.150 --> 00:23:33.890 apparently one of the theories is that a bunch 00:23:33.890 --> 00:23:35.950 of people were dressing up to help advertise 00:23:35.950 --> 00:23:39.509 the movie, which I got to say is pretty smart 00:23:39.509 --> 00:23:42.230 and it seems like it was quite successful. But 00:23:42.230 --> 00:23:46.650 this panic got really intense. There were reports 00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:49.990 of clowns terrorizing children and even attacking 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:53.589 people. As a matter of fact, in Pennsylvania, 00:23:53.829 --> 00:23:56.950 there was a report of a teenager that had been 00:23:56.950 --> 00:24:01.460 murdered by someone in a clown mask. But feeding 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:04.660 into the panic more, this report was later proven 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:08.299 to be false. So this is just an example of a 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:11.440 lot of the media that was involved in how they 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.319 like really blew up this panic. It was actually 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:17.900 the person that was murdered that owned this 00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:20.940 clown mask. They weren't murdered by a clown. 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:25.500 A few weeks prior to this murder, there was also 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:28.619 a report of a clown stabbing a teenager in Varberg, 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:32.240 Sweden. The media continued to publish dozens 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:35.500 and dozens of unsubstantiated claims. There were 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:37.640 all these articles being published about creepy 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:41.759 clowns, killer clowns everywhere. And these sightings 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:45.039 suddenly became international. There was even 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:47.759 hotlines for children's counseling that were 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.759 getting hundreds of calls from kids worried about 00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:54.259 being hurt by a clown. The police advised people 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:57.579 if they saw a clown to just ignore it, don't 00:24:57.579 --> 00:25:01.150 engage, walk away. and to report the incident 00:25:01.150 --> 00:25:03.490 to authorities, saying that the clowns would 00:25:03.490 --> 00:25:08.089 only disappear if they got bored. At one point, 00:25:08.109 --> 00:25:11.430 the panic got so bad, schools in Texas and Alabama 00:25:11.430 --> 00:25:15.470 shut down. The police were making dozens of arrests 00:25:15.470 --> 00:25:17.910 also, because there were people either making 00:25:17.910 --> 00:25:21.130 false reports for attention, or there were people 00:25:21.130 --> 00:25:23.690 actually dressing up in clown costumes, trying 00:25:23.690 --> 00:25:27.990 to scare people. The paranoia got so bad it even 00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:31.269 reached the White House, where Press Secretary 00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:34.910 Josh Earnest had to field questions about the 00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:38.349 president's stance on creepy clowns during a 00:25:38.349 --> 00:25:43.150 press briefing. The 2016 clown panic is an example 00:25:43.150 --> 00:25:46.490 of what folklorists would call ostention, which 00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:50.440 is the acting out of urban legends. Another classic 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:53.119 example of ostention might involve a group of 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:55.900 high school students going to a cemetery that 00:25:55.900 --> 00:25:58.660 they think is haunted and claiming that they 00:25:58.660 --> 00:26:02.619 saw a ghost there. But sometimes ostention can 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:06.920 become very dark, like the infamous true crime 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:10.200 case where two young girls in Wisconsin stabbed 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:16.119 their friend to appease Slenderman in 2014. A 00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:19.180 folklorist named Radford has also offered another 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:23.319 theory for the original origin of the 2016 clown 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:25.640 panic. When I was researching this, there were 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:27.920 a lot of different theories of like exactly how 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:31.619 it started. But according to Radford, he believes 00:26:31.619 --> 00:26:35.660 this phenomenon began around 2013. There was 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.460 this young filmmaker in Northampton, UK that 00:26:38.460 --> 00:26:41.200 was dressing up as a clown and he was posting 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:44.500 photos on Facebook. for a social media experiment 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:49.059 and the photos went viral soon there were copycats 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:52.619 in britain ireland france and the us popping 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:56.720 up all over the internet in 2014 french police 00:26:56.720 --> 00:27:01.220 arrested 14 teenagers who terrorized local residents 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:04.259 by dressing up as clowns and carrying weapons 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:08.299 so it seems like it was this domino effect these 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:11.480 events combined with stephen king's new movie 00:27:12.059 --> 00:27:15.180 may have been responsible for putting these creepy 00:27:15.180 --> 00:27:18.359 clowns back on the map and leading to a moral 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:25.680 panic. So, why are we scared of clowns? Other 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:28.759 than the obvious fact that they look super terrifying. 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:32.440 According to a study done by ScientificAmerican 00:27:32.440 --> 00:27:37.819 .com, 54 % of people between 18 and 77 years 00:27:37.819 --> 00:27:41.819 of age are scared of clowns to some degree. with 00:27:41.819 --> 00:27:45.319 5 % saying they are extremely afraid of them. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:48.640 It was also found that women are more afraid 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.539 of clowns than men for some reason. And in this 00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:53.819 study, they also looked at the science as to 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:56.240 why we're scared of clowns, and they came up 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:00.839 with several reasons. So one of them is the creepy 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:05.940 makeup. Similar to artificial intelligence, clowns 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:09.380 are human -like in appearance, but not quite 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:13.259 human -looking. This is also why we are scared 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:18.440 of dolls, mannequins. It's existential and unsettling. 00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:23.079 Clown makeup hides emotional signals and makes 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:26.380 us feel uncertain because we can't tell what 00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:29.579 their intention is. We can't see a smile or a 00:28:29.579 --> 00:28:33.960 frown. Our brains can't compute what their facial 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:36.990 expressions are trying to tell us. The color 00:28:36.990 --> 00:28:39.910 of the makeup that clowns wear, the red, also 00:28:39.910 --> 00:28:43.009 might subconsciously remind us of death, infection, 00:28:43.150 --> 00:28:47.390 or blood. It's also believed that the clown's 00:28:47.390 --> 00:28:50.410 exaggerated facial features might biologically 00:28:50.410 --> 00:28:53.789 and subconsciously convey to us a direct sense 00:28:53.789 --> 00:28:57.250 of a threat. And then there's their behavior. 00:28:57.609 --> 00:29:01.039 Clowns break social norms. They're very unpredictable 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:04.539 and that makes us uncomfortable. And then it 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:07.200 could also be learned behavior. Having a fear 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:09.539 of clowns could be learned from your parents 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:13.579 or negative portrayals in the media and in movies 00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:17.720 and books like Pennywise, John Wayne Gacy. We 00:29:17.720 --> 00:29:20.019 don't see a lot of clowns in the media that are 00:29:20.019 --> 00:29:24.680 positively portrayed, you know? So what about 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:27.740 some clowns that further play into the sphere 00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:43.019 and are just plain creepy? Hey, everybody, we 00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:44.799 are going to take a quick break from the show 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:47.359 so I can let you know about the special that 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.079 I am running for a limited time only over at 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:54.000 the Perplexed Society. If you go to patreon .com 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:57.640 slash perplexity mystery podcast right now to 00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:00.599 join any tier, you will notice there are some 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:04.279 codes there. You can use codes to get 50 % off 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:07.779 your first month on Patreon. This means that 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:10.500 for half off, you would get perplexity episodes 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:13.460 two days early and ad free. That would just be 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:17.299 for $1. And if you want to unlock tons and tons 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:21.220 of bonus content, if you want merch, you can 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:23.400 check out my other tiers, and those would start 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:27.319 at just $2 .50 instead of five bucks a month. 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.740 The Patreon is the number one reason I get to 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:33.059 keep doing this podcast, and I'll be honest, 00:30:33.180 --> 00:30:36.180 it feels a little bit weird and icky plugging 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:41.279 it, but I don't make much of anything from doing 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:43.660 this show, and it does cost money to keep this 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:47.009 show. up and running. So when you guys join, 00:30:47.190 --> 00:30:50.170 it helps me keep the show going, help me get 00:30:50.170 --> 00:30:53.190 equipment, all of the different software programs 00:30:53.190 --> 00:30:56.049 I need, and it will also help me bring you better 00:30:56.049 --> 00:30:58.769 content. There's also tons of perks to joining 00:30:58.769 --> 00:31:01.509 this awesome community over here. You get your 00:31:01.509 --> 00:31:04.470 topic requests and listener stories prioritized. 00:31:04.490 --> 00:31:08.049 So don't wait. Go over to patreon .com slash 00:31:08.049 --> 00:31:11.170 perplexity mystery podcast. Right now, check 00:31:11.170 --> 00:31:14.589 out those tiers and use the code. I'm not telling 00:31:14.589 --> 00:31:16.630 you the name of the code right now because it's 00:31:16.630 --> 00:31:19.569 like right between when the last one lapsed. 00:31:19.569 --> 00:31:20.930 So I don't know what the code is going to be 00:31:20.930 --> 00:31:23.769 called yet. But if you go to patreon .com slash 00:31:23.769 --> 00:31:26.430 perplexity mystery podcast and you're looking 00:31:26.430 --> 00:31:29.109 at the tiers, there will be a code advertised 00:31:29.109 --> 00:31:31.829 that you can use to get half off your first month. 00:31:32.009 --> 00:31:35.630 So again, that is patreon .com slash perplexity 00:31:35.630 --> 00:31:40.339 mystery podcast. I will see you over there. Now 00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:46.440 back to the show. In 2015, an anonymous man from 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:50.519 Florida created the character Wrinkles the Clown. 00:31:51.240 --> 00:31:54.660 He would dress up and hire himself out to parents 00:31:54.660 --> 00:31:59.740 to scare kids for a few hundred bucks. This creepy 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:03.099 dude was offering to come into people's houses 00:32:03.099 --> 00:32:07.779 and scare their kids. This character went viral 00:32:08.299 --> 00:32:12.440 in 2015 on YouTube after a video surfaced of 00:32:12.440 --> 00:32:16.059 this man sleeping under this girl's trundle bed 00:32:16.059 --> 00:32:19.160 and coming out from the drawer and popping up 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:21.400 and scaring this little girl while she was sleeping. 00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:25.500 Subsequently, the character appeared in several 00:32:25.500 --> 00:32:28.400 more videos, either scaring the shit out of kids 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:31.759 or engaging in very disturbing behaviors like 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:34.039 standing on the side of the road when it was 00:32:34.039 --> 00:32:36.839 dark outside and just like waving to passerbys. 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:41.369 So people just thought this was some creepy clown 00:32:41.369 --> 00:32:44.650 and these awful parents were hiring him to scare 00:32:44.650 --> 00:32:47.890 their kids. And this was believed for several 00:32:47.890 --> 00:32:51.849 years. But this would change in October 2019, 00:32:52.109 --> 00:32:55.190 when a documentary called Wrinkles the Clown 00:32:55.190 --> 00:32:58.329 was created about the character. This documentary 00:32:58.329 --> 00:33:02.309 revealed, spoiler alert, that these videos were 00:33:02.309 --> 00:33:05.470 staged. This was all part of conceptual performance 00:33:05.470 --> 00:33:08.849 art. And Wrinkle's true identity was also kept 00:33:08.849 --> 00:33:13.390 secret. But I gotta wonder, like, what was the 00:33:13.390 --> 00:33:18.190 purpose of doing this? Another case that I was 00:33:18.190 --> 00:33:21.230 familiar with before I did this story is the 00:33:21.230 --> 00:33:26.150 murder of Marlene Warren. Marlene was fatally 00:33:26.150 --> 00:33:30.450 shot by a clown in 1990. Marlene would hear her 00:33:30.450 --> 00:33:33.500 doorbell ring in Fort Lauderdale. She opened 00:33:33.500 --> 00:33:36.880 the door and came face to face with a smiling 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:40.319 clown wearing a bright orange wig, holding flowers 00:33:40.319 --> 00:33:43.740 and two balloons. The clown handed her the balloons, 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:47.039 one of them reading, you are the greatest. And 00:33:47.039 --> 00:33:49.940 Marlene thought it was a nice gift from her husband 00:33:49.940 --> 00:33:52.619 or somebody. So she's like, oh my gosh, this 00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:56.220 is so nice. And then the clown pulled out a gun 00:33:56.220 --> 00:34:01.099 and shot Marlene point blank in the face. Horrific. 00:34:02.190 --> 00:34:05.630 Her son Joseph was also home when this happened, 00:34:05.769 --> 00:34:08.929 so he hears the commotion, runs to the porch, 00:34:09.150 --> 00:34:12.510 and he's cradling his mom, who's bleeding out, 00:34:12.670 --> 00:34:16.289 and he remembered meeting the dark brown eyes 00:34:16.289 --> 00:34:19.670 of this assailant before the clown fled away 00:34:19.670 --> 00:34:23.769 in an unmarked vehicle. Marlene Warren's murder 00:34:23.769 --> 00:34:28.690 remained unsolved for nearly 30 years, but eventually 00:34:28.690 --> 00:34:33.309 the killer clown was identified. And it was a 00:34:33.309 --> 00:34:38.909 woman. Sheila Keene Warren was arrested and pled 00:34:38.909 --> 00:34:41.570 guilty to second -degree murder in a plea deal 00:34:41.570 --> 00:34:45.090 after improved DNA testing tied her to evidence 00:34:45.090 --> 00:34:48.630 found in the getaway car. At the time of the 00:34:48.630 --> 00:34:53.710 shooting, Sheila was employed by Marlene Warren's 00:34:53.710 --> 00:35:02.570 husband, Michael, at his used car lot. like Marlene, 00:35:02.789 --> 00:35:07.750 had also been married to Michael. This man had 00:35:07.750 --> 00:35:12.570 two wives. Unbelievable. Sheila and Michael eventually 00:35:12.570 --> 00:35:16.050 relocated to Abingdon, Virginia, and they ran 00:35:16.050 --> 00:35:18.230 a restaurant together just along the Tennessee 00:35:18.230 --> 00:35:22.110 border. Witnesses would tell investigators way 00:35:22.110 --> 00:35:24.789 back at the time of the murder, Sheila and Michael 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:28.329 were having an affair, though both denied it. 00:35:29.070 --> 00:35:31.789 Years after the murder, costume shop employees 00:35:31.789 --> 00:35:34.929 identified Sheila Warren as the woman who had 00:35:34.929 --> 00:35:37.369 bought a clown suit a few days before the killing. 00:35:37.889 --> 00:35:40.690 One of the two balloons was this silver balloon 00:35:40.690 --> 00:35:44.849 that read, And this was sold at only one store, 00:35:45.110 --> 00:35:48.550 a Publix supermarket, which just so happened 00:35:48.550 --> 00:35:52.849 to be right by Sheila's house. Employees told 00:35:52.849 --> 00:35:55.550 detectives a woman who looked like Sheila had 00:35:55.550 --> 00:35:58.949 bought the balloons just one hour before Marlene 00:35:58.949 --> 00:36:02.909 Warren was shot. The presumed getaway car was 00:36:02.909 --> 00:36:06.369 also found abandoned with orange hair -like fibers 00:36:06.369 --> 00:36:09.090 inside, just like the wig that the clown was 00:36:09.090 --> 00:36:12.469 wearing. This was a white Chrysler convertible 00:36:12.469 --> 00:36:15.309 and it had been reported stolen from Michael 00:36:15.309 --> 00:36:19.090 Warren, the husband's, car lot a month before 00:36:19.090 --> 00:36:24.070 the shooting. How convenient. Sheila and her 00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:28.969 then -husband repossessed cars for Michael. Relatives 00:36:28.969 --> 00:36:31.969 told the Palm Beach Post in 2000 that Marlene 00:36:31.969 --> 00:36:34.949 Warren, who was 40 when she was murdered, had 00:36:34.949 --> 00:36:37.829 been suspecting her husband of cheating and had 00:36:37.829 --> 00:36:41.590 planned to leave him. But the car lot and other 00:36:41.590 --> 00:36:44.150 properties were in her name, and she feared what 00:36:44.150 --> 00:36:47.070 would happen to her financially if she left Michael. 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:51.079 She allegedly confided in her mom shortly before 00:36:51.079 --> 00:36:54.199 her murder, saying, quote, if anything happens 00:36:54.199 --> 00:36:58.920 to me, Mike done it. To this day, Michael Warren 00:36:58.920 --> 00:37:02.079 has never been charged with any involvement in 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:05.699 Marlene's murder. However, he was convicted of 00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:09.300 grand theft, racketeering, and odometer tampering 00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:12.920 in 1994, serving about four years in prison. 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:17.400 A year before this, Michael Warren was at a Palm 00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:19.900 Beach County courthouse walking out of the courtroom 00:37:19.900 --> 00:37:23.460 with an attorney named Christopher DeSantis when 00:37:23.460 --> 00:37:26.820 he asked the lawyer a very interesting question. 00:37:27.820 --> 00:37:32.059 He was like, theoretically, let's say a husband 00:37:32.059 --> 00:37:35.460 was going to kill his wife. What would happen 00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:40.760 to her estate? And DeSantis was like. Okay, weird 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:43.619 question. But you know, I'm gonna advise this 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:49.079 person. But then somehow, like, I gotta look 00:37:49.079 --> 00:37:53.079 sideways at DeSantis a little bit, because somehow, 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:58.360 the topic of dressing up as a clown comes up. 00:37:58.440 --> 00:38:02.000 And apparently, DeSantis told Michael, if someone, 00:38:02.139 --> 00:38:04.840 a killer specifically, dressed up as a clown, 00:38:05.079 --> 00:38:07.559 they would likely get away with it. Because witnesses 00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:09.780 wouldn't be able to tell if the killer was a 00:38:09.780 --> 00:38:14.380 man or a woman. And now I really want to get 00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:16.480 into this case more and learn about it. There's 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:18.960 a three -part documentary on the case called 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:22.059 Killer Clown Murder on the Doorstep. This aired 00:38:22.059 --> 00:38:26.900 on Sundance TV, AMC Plus, and Sundance Now. So 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:31.099 I want to see if I can find it. But that is the 00:38:31.099 --> 00:38:34.960 murder of Marlene Warren. And how tragic. A man... 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:37.980 couldn't keep his hands away from another woman. 00:38:38.219 --> 00:38:41.840 And this happened. And Sheila was stupid enough 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:45.440 to do his dirty work for him. Further feeding 00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:48.960 into the fear of clowns, I naturally had to go 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:55.360 to Reddit and see what I could find. And I regretted 00:38:55.360 --> 00:38:59.000 it instantly. But I'm facing my fears today. 00:38:59.099 --> 00:39:02.239 And you have to hear these stories too. We have 00:39:02.239 --> 00:39:06.380 to be scared together. So this first clown encounter 00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:10.900 story from Reddit is from Reddit user Time189, 00:39:11.079 --> 00:39:14.480 and it is titled Childhood Clown Incident That 00:39:14.480 --> 00:39:19.940 Still Has Me Wondering Experience. Quote, When 00:39:19.940 --> 00:39:22.500 I was around five to six years old, my younger 00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:24.719 brother and I, who would have been around four 00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:27.320 at the time, were playing in our front yard as 00:39:27.320 --> 00:39:31.099 we often did. We lived in a very bad town in 00:39:31.099 --> 00:39:35.280 Southern California. A town that had a bad reputation 00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:39.420 and numerous tragedies, especially on the street 00:39:39.420 --> 00:39:43.039 that we lived on. Suddenly we heard laughter 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:46.500 coming from across the street. I stopped what 00:39:46.500 --> 00:39:49.139 I was doing and I looked across the street and 00:39:49.139 --> 00:39:54.599 saw a clown in a full suit and makeup. He was 00:39:54.599 --> 00:39:57.239 standing on the upper balcony of our neighbor's 00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:02.590 house. The clown then took out an umbrella. and 00:40:02.590 --> 00:40:06.570 floated down from the upper balcony and landed 00:40:06.570 --> 00:40:09.590 right in front of where my brother and I were 00:40:09.590 --> 00:40:13.650 playing. I remember the clown started talking 00:40:13.650 --> 00:40:17.670 to us, but I cannot remember what he said. I 00:40:17.670 --> 00:40:20.329 just remember he was very loud, and he would 00:40:20.329 --> 00:40:24.090 move his arms wildly when he talked. He then 00:40:24.090 --> 00:40:28.530 took out two large circus -style lollipops, handing 00:40:28.530 --> 00:40:32.289 one to each of us. The clown said something to 00:40:32.289 --> 00:40:35.550 us and then pulled the umbrella out and floated 00:40:35.550 --> 00:40:39.329 back up to the neighbor's balcony and went inside. 00:40:40.510 --> 00:40:44.050 I always chalked this up to something I imagined 00:40:44.050 --> 00:40:47.889 since I was so young when it happened. I never 00:40:47.889 --> 00:40:52.949 mentioned it to anyone until I was 19. My brother 00:40:52.949 --> 00:40:54.869 and I were hanging out with some friends and 00:40:54.869 --> 00:40:58.619 sharing stories about strange experiences. I 00:40:58.619 --> 00:41:02.440 decided to retell the clown story when all of 00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:05.880 a sudden my brother's jaw dropped to the floor. 00:41:06.699 --> 00:41:10.900 His eyes were the size of dinner plates. He said 00:41:10.900 --> 00:41:14.539 he remembered the clown and he described details 00:41:14.539 --> 00:41:18.699 about the incident that I left out. I couldn't 00:41:18.699 --> 00:41:21.079 believe that he would remember something like 00:41:21.079 --> 00:41:24.539 that. I was also in disbelief that it wasn't 00:41:24.539 --> 00:41:27.269 something that I had just imagined. Now this 00:41:27.269 --> 00:41:30.210 particular street had its fair share of strange 00:41:30.210 --> 00:41:34.309 and tragic occurrences, from murders, house fires, 00:41:34.409 --> 00:41:38.389 and overdoses. It was always considered a cursed 00:41:38.389 --> 00:41:42.510 street. Could we have imagined this? Or was it 00:41:42.510 --> 00:41:45.210 something that was conjured up from all the negative 00:41:45.210 --> 00:41:51.429 energy of that town slash street? The idea of 00:41:51.429 --> 00:41:57.699 a clown fucking floating down, with an umbrella 00:41:57.699 --> 00:42:01.679 and being like, hello, would you like a lollipop? 00:42:03.260 --> 00:42:06.860 I would be locked away in a psych ward. You would 00:42:06.860 --> 00:42:10.619 never see me again. I would never recover from 00:42:10.619 --> 00:42:13.400 that. I would become one of those conspiracy 00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:15.639 theorists that's like locked in a house all the 00:42:15.639 --> 00:42:18.699 time. Like the lady from Final Destination Bloodlines, 00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:20.699 that would be me. I would never leave my house. 00:42:20.860 --> 00:42:23.179 Oh my God. And then the fact that the brother 00:42:23.179 --> 00:42:27.289 was like, yeah, I remember that too. It kind 00:42:27.289 --> 00:42:29.989 of reminds me of the episode I did a while back. 00:42:30.369 --> 00:42:33.110 Sam, the sand down clown. Do you guys remember 00:42:33.110 --> 00:42:37.809 that? It was an alien robot kind of clown. Like 00:42:37.809 --> 00:42:40.409 the story does give me paranormal kind of alien 00:42:40.409 --> 00:42:42.550 vibes for sure with the floating and everything. 00:42:43.590 --> 00:42:46.909 So then on this Reddit story, there were a bunch 00:42:46.909 --> 00:42:51.449 of comments and they were also like people who 00:42:51.449 --> 00:42:54.449 had had creepy clown experiences and there's 00:42:54.449 --> 00:42:57.480 some pretty good. Crazy ones. One reply to their 00:42:57.480 --> 00:43:00.179 encounter was from Reddit user FireDance, and 00:43:00.179 --> 00:43:07.000 they say, quote, so, um, that's weird. And here's 00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:10.360 why. When I was about five -ish, we were living 00:43:10.360 --> 00:43:14.000 in Southern California. We lived in an apartment 00:43:14.000 --> 00:43:16.880 building, and the kids in the building started 00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:20.420 telling their parents about seeing clowns, at 00:43:20.420 --> 00:43:24.780 least from what my parents said. Then I saw the 00:43:24.780 --> 00:43:28.460 clown. It was in my bedroom on the second or 00:43:28.460 --> 00:43:33.360 third floor. I screamed, of course, and my parents 00:43:33.360 --> 00:43:36.099 came running, finding me hysterical about this 00:43:36.099 --> 00:43:39.659 clown that was in my room. My parents must have 00:43:39.659 --> 00:43:43.320 assumed it was a nightmare, except my window, 00:43:43.579 --> 00:43:47.139 which had been shut and locked, was wide open. 00:43:47.920 --> 00:43:51.039 I wasn't tall enough to reach the latch, so I 00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:54.119 couldn't have opened it. My parents checked outside, 00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:58.260 but there was nothing there. My dad and some 00:43:58.260 --> 00:44:00.440 of the other men in the building also searched 00:44:00.440 --> 00:44:04.159 the area around the building. Even though it 00:44:04.159 --> 00:44:07.099 had just rained recently, there were no footprints 00:44:07.099 --> 00:44:12.340 or ladder marks, so there was no way anyone could 00:44:12.340 --> 00:44:17.179 have been in my room unless they floated up. 00:44:18.599 --> 00:44:26.320 End quote. California, what's going on? Are there 00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:31.820 floating alien clowns? I need more information 00:44:31.820 --> 00:44:35.179 because I'm supposed to go to California in a 00:44:35.179 --> 00:44:38.039 few months and I can't deal with this, okay? 00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:42.059 So then there was another comment from Reddit 00:44:42.059 --> 00:44:46.460 user PointDefiant who said, I also lived in California 00:44:46.460 --> 00:44:49.460 as a kid. We lived more in the Central Valley 00:44:49.460 --> 00:44:52.539 area, but had a lot of relatives down south where 00:44:52.539 --> 00:44:56.280 we would go visit. I remember when I was around 00:44:56.280 --> 00:44:58.900 eight to nine years old, one of my cousins told 00:44:58.900 --> 00:45:01.719 me about a clown that randomly appeared in her 00:45:01.719 --> 00:45:05.780 yard. She told me he talked to her and what he 00:45:05.780 --> 00:45:09.280 said. I don't remember what she told me that 00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:12.099 they talked about, but I remember not believing 00:45:12.099 --> 00:45:16.500 her. But that night, I went to bed in the room 00:45:16.500 --> 00:45:21.079 with her. And we both woke up to a knock on her 00:45:21.079 --> 00:45:26.000 window. And I shit you not, it was a clown looking 00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:31.039 at us through her window. We were on the second 00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:35.139 floor. There was also no balcony or anything. 00:45:36.099 --> 00:45:40.079 So the only way someone could be up there is 00:45:40.079 --> 00:45:43.570 if they were floating. scared the shit out of 00:45:43.570 --> 00:45:46.809 us so bad that we ran to the living room. And 00:45:46.809 --> 00:45:49.090 when we told my uncle, he said we were tired 00:45:49.090 --> 00:45:52.889 and our eyes were playing tricks on us. But I 00:45:52.889 --> 00:46:00.250 know what I saw, end quote. Reddit, you better 00:46:00.250 --> 00:46:02.909 not be playing with me right now because I can't 00:46:02.909 --> 00:46:07.670 deal with this. This was the point in the episode 00:46:07.670 --> 00:46:10.210 that I had fully scared myself, but I was in 00:46:10.210 --> 00:46:13.190 too deep, okay? There's no going back now. Separate 00:46:13.190 --> 00:46:16.530 story that I found. Getting away from the floating 00:46:16.530 --> 00:46:20.090 alien clowns. This is from Reddit user Ansbrook, 00:46:20.130 --> 00:46:23.329 who has just as terrifying of a clown encounter 00:46:23.329 --> 00:46:27.170 to share. They say, quote, I had a clown puppet 00:46:27.170 --> 00:46:29.789 that a customer of my family's business bought 00:46:29.789 --> 00:46:32.610 me. I put it in the closet because it scared 00:46:32.610 --> 00:46:35.869 the hell out of me. I was about eight or nine 00:46:35.869 --> 00:46:38.969 and my sister was five. She remembers this too. 00:46:40.010 --> 00:46:45.349 It used to open the closet door and dance. We 00:46:45.349 --> 00:46:49.130 would find it moved around the room. The final 00:46:49.130 --> 00:46:52.590 straw was when it slammed open the door and fell 00:46:52.590 --> 00:46:56.429 on the ground. I had the puppet hanging from 00:46:56.429 --> 00:47:01.369 a hanger. It was not animatronic either. Then 00:47:01.369 --> 00:47:06.409 the puppet stood up and tried to walk. I threw 00:47:06.409 --> 00:47:09.260 a doll at it and knocked it down. I wrapped it 00:47:09.260 --> 00:47:13.059 in a blanket after flipping out for hours. My 00:47:13.059 --> 00:47:17.920 mom believed us. My dad didn't. My mom helped 00:47:17.920 --> 00:47:21.059 us throw it away. But the damn thing was back 00:47:21.059 --> 00:47:25.380 in the closet by morning. But it was in my sister's 00:47:25.380 --> 00:47:29.739 closet. Then my mom took it and we never saw 00:47:29.739 --> 00:47:33.599 it again. But this whole thing had gone on for 00:47:33.599 --> 00:47:36.360 like a year. I don't know if it was imagination, 00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:40.159 but my mom still says it was freaky, even though 00:47:40.159 --> 00:47:43.019 it was 20 years ago. And my sister remembers 00:47:43.019 --> 00:47:47.019 it too. Who knows what really happened or how 00:47:47.019 --> 00:47:50.739 my mom finally got rid of it. I think she maybe 00:47:50.739 --> 00:47:53.599 just took it to the dump, but she can't remember. 00:47:54.800 --> 00:47:59.099 End quote. We are mixing some of my worst fears, 00:47:59.340 --> 00:48:05.480 clowns, puppets, and dolls. No. no no no if any 00:48:05.480 --> 00:48:11.039 of you ever mail me a clown a puppet or a doll 00:48:11.039 --> 00:48:16.420 we're going to have beef okay this next story 00:48:16.420 --> 00:48:19.119 is from reddit user vixki their encounter was 00:48:19.119 --> 00:48:22.960 in 2016 during the clown panic i found their 00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:25.780 story on this subreddit talking about the 2016 00:48:25.780 --> 00:48:30.059 clown panic and they say quote I was chilling 00:48:30.059 --> 00:48:32.760 at a local park with some friends when I decided 00:48:32.760 --> 00:48:35.699 to walk through the park and the trail to McDonald's. 00:48:36.059 --> 00:48:38.440 I had just gotten to the trail entrance when 00:48:38.440 --> 00:48:41.719 I heard rustling in the bushes on my left. Keeping 00:48:41.719 --> 00:48:44.559 in mind it was about 9 o 'clock and dark and 00:48:44.559 --> 00:48:47.719 this type of thing didn't happen since I was 00:48:47.719 --> 00:48:52.119 there almost every day. Needless to say, it freaked 00:48:52.119 --> 00:48:54.639 me out and I ran back to my friends and told 00:48:54.639 --> 00:48:58.010 them what happened. They were all pissed. As 00:48:58.010 --> 00:49:00.329 a group, we ran back to the bushes and started 00:49:00.329 --> 00:49:04.250 searching, when we heard quiet giggling, and 00:49:04.250 --> 00:49:07.929 it confirmed my suspicions, so I yelled, come 00:49:07.929 --> 00:49:12.170 out, pussy. No response, but about five seconds 00:49:12.170 --> 00:49:16.030 later, a rusty razor blade comes flying out of 00:49:16.030 --> 00:49:20.010 the bushes and hit me in the chest. We were all 00:49:20.010 --> 00:49:23.530 spooked and ran off. The next day on the news, 00:49:23.980 --> 00:49:27.420 An elderly man had been stabbed by a man dressed 00:49:27.420 --> 00:49:32.500 in a clown costume. Not fun. Edit. I live in 00:49:32.500 --> 00:49:34.619 a small town in Canada, so this type of thing 00:49:34.619 --> 00:49:38.099 really shook my town. The man was never caught 00:49:38.099 --> 00:49:41.639 and he's probably still out there. End quote. 00:49:43.099 --> 00:49:47.280 That's horrific. And I hope that person got a 00:49:47.280 --> 00:49:50.119 tetanus shot because a rusty razor blade hitting 00:49:50.119 --> 00:49:54.260 you in the chest is not, not good. It really 00:49:54.260 --> 00:49:56.840 does sound like they just avoided being murdered 00:49:56.840 --> 00:50:00.920 by a clown. This next story is from Reddit user 00:50:00.920 --> 00:50:06.239 Alberta underscore fish be the name. And they 00:50:06.239 --> 00:50:10.840 say, quote, scary clown in the woods. I'll start 00:50:10.840 --> 00:50:13.340 off by explaining the area so you get a good 00:50:13.340 --> 00:50:16.300 picture of where this occurred. We lived in a 00:50:16.300 --> 00:50:19.280 small neighborhood. All of the surrounding streets 00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:22.960 dead end into a half circle park. But behind 00:50:22.960 --> 00:50:25.480 the park are some woods and a railroad track. 00:50:26.340 --> 00:50:29.239 When we were younger, we all played in the front 00:50:29.239 --> 00:50:32.400 part of the woods. We never ventured too far 00:50:32.400 --> 00:50:36.800 back. This was our play area for years. We never 00:50:36.800 --> 00:50:40.440 had issue, and we were never scared. This area 00:50:40.440 --> 00:50:44.719 was pretty well lit. But one day, my brother 00:50:44.719 --> 00:50:48.199 Jimmy, my best friend Sarah, and my brother's 00:50:48.199 --> 00:50:52.139 best friend Ian were all playing near a dam in 00:50:52.139 --> 00:50:54.500 the middle of a small creek that ran through 00:50:54.500 --> 00:50:58.400 the park and the woods. The boys decided they 00:50:58.400 --> 00:51:00.539 were going to head back to Ian's house and get 00:51:00.539 --> 00:51:03.559 some snacks. Sarah and I decided we would stay 00:51:03.559 --> 00:51:06.760 and we would finish our camp area that we had 00:51:06.760 --> 00:51:10.260 been making. As we were moving rocks around, 00:51:10.519 --> 00:51:13.960 I got a very odd feeling. It suddenly came over 00:51:13.960 --> 00:51:17.250 me. It was a strange feeling that we were being 00:51:17.250 --> 00:51:25.670 watched. I immediately thought it was the boys 00:51:25.670 --> 00:51:28.630 trying to scare us, so I just continued on with 00:51:28.630 --> 00:51:31.929 what I was doing. Sarah and I loaded up some 00:51:31.929 --> 00:51:34.409 big rocks and we headed back to the creek and 00:51:34.409 --> 00:51:37.469 put them down at the dam. But then I got that 00:51:37.469 --> 00:51:41.349 feeling again. And as I stood up, I saw something 00:51:41.349 --> 00:51:45.409 right in front of me about 30 feet away. I couldn't 00:51:45.409 --> 00:51:47.969 clearly make out what it was yet because it was 00:51:47.969 --> 00:51:52.130 behind a bush, but I did see this checkered red 00:51:52.130 --> 00:51:56.690 and blue pattern. I knew that it was nothing 00:51:56.690 --> 00:52:00.050 the boys had on, so at this point, I was focusing 00:52:00.050 --> 00:52:03.650 my eyes trying to figure out what it was. Then, 00:52:03.650 --> 00:52:07.210 as I was scanning up and down the bush, I started 00:52:07.210 --> 00:52:12.199 to realize... I was looking at a clown. I shit 00:52:12.199 --> 00:52:15.059 you not, my heart started pounding immediately. 00:52:15.300 --> 00:52:20.019 The clown and my eyes locked. He was wearing 00:52:20.019 --> 00:52:23.079 a blue and red hat with a reverse pattern red 00:52:23.079 --> 00:52:26.760 and blue jumpsuit. I grabbed Sarah's shirt and 00:52:26.760 --> 00:52:29.599 immediately pulled her upright, and she also 00:52:29.599 --> 00:52:34.260 noticed the man. He was smiling with a full face 00:52:34.260 --> 00:52:39.989 of makeup and holding a giant knife. We both 00:52:39.989 --> 00:52:42.610 said nothing and started running as fast as our 00:52:42.610 --> 00:52:45.690 legs could take us. He started following us. 00:52:46.150 --> 00:52:50.150 We heard twigs snapping and the ground crunching, 00:52:50.150 --> 00:52:53.550 but we were booking it. We ran through the front 00:52:53.550 --> 00:52:55.829 of the woods, through the side of the park and 00:52:55.829 --> 00:53:00.909 up our dead end street. Ian and Jimmy were two 00:53:00.909 --> 00:53:03.550 houses up from the end and they saw us running 00:53:03.550 --> 00:53:06.969 and screaming. While running past, we screamed, 00:53:07.170 --> 00:53:09.530 a clown was there, and they started laughing. 00:53:10.590 --> 00:53:13.409 We were still running and screaming for our lives 00:53:13.409 --> 00:53:15.530 when we finally made it to the middle of the 00:53:15.530 --> 00:53:18.710 street where Sarah's dad, Danny, was now running 00:53:18.710 --> 00:53:20.949 out the front door because he heard the screams. 00:53:21.829 --> 00:53:24.510 We met Danny right at the beginning of the neighbor's 00:53:24.510 --> 00:53:26.670 house when we were trying to explain what we 00:53:26.670 --> 00:53:31.590 had seen. He said, girls, stop it now. This is 00:53:31.590 --> 00:53:34.750 ridiculous. What are you talking about? We tried 00:53:34.750 --> 00:53:37.309 to catch our breath, and by this time, Jimmy 00:53:37.309 --> 00:53:40.630 and Ian had caught up with us. We were crying 00:53:40.630 --> 00:53:43.630 and pointing and telling Danny again that we 00:53:43.630 --> 00:53:47.250 had seen a clown with a knife. Jimmy and Ian 00:53:47.250 --> 00:53:50.289 were laughing, and Danny was asking if they played 00:53:50.289 --> 00:53:54.369 a prank on us. About this time, an old yellow 00:53:54.369 --> 00:53:58.230 Pinto type of car came up from the dead end at 00:53:58.230 --> 00:54:00.969 the park and pulled right up next to the sidewalk 00:54:00.969 --> 00:54:05.610 of the yard we were in. Sure enough, plain as 00:54:05.610 --> 00:54:10.010 day, it was the fucking clown. No hat this time, 00:54:10.170 --> 00:54:14.230 but he still had a knife in his hand and told 00:54:14.230 --> 00:54:18.750 us to come closer. Danny started shoving us all 00:54:18.750 --> 00:54:22.329 toward the house and he himself got so scared 00:54:22.329 --> 00:54:26.170 and started running. The car then drove off down 00:54:26.170 --> 00:54:29.210 the street. We got inside and Danny called the 00:54:29.210 --> 00:54:33.039 police. We had to give statements and the police 00:54:33.039 --> 00:54:35.300 patrolled the neighborhood and the park for a 00:54:35.300 --> 00:54:38.239 couple weeks. We were never allowed to go to 00:54:38.239 --> 00:54:41.340 that park again. And a few months after that, 00:54:41.380 --> 00:54:44.420 the city started to clear out the woods. They 00:54:44.420 --> 00:54:46.900 were cutting down a lot of trees. They made a 00:54:46.900 --> 00:54:49.659 walking area that you could see through all the 00:54:49.659 --> 00:54:53.659 way to the train tracks. My friend and I used 00:54:53.659 --> 00:54:56.840 to talk about this many times up to her death, 00:54:57.019 --> 00:55:00.360 but no one would believe us. All of it was just 00:55:00.360 --> 00:55:05.639 so scary. This man wasn't afraid of us. He got 00:55:05.639 --> 00:55:09.500 so close to us and held a knife even when my 00:55:09.500 --> 00:55:13.219 friend's dad was there. I feel we're lucky to 00:55:13.219 --> 00:55:16.940 be alive. And had it been just one of us in the 00:55:16.940 --> 00:55:19.280 woods that day, I don't think we would have been 00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:23.420 so lucky. Sarah's dad stopped drinking that day 00:55:23.420 --> 00:55:28.889 and we all have a fear of clowns." I did have 00:55:28.889 --> 00:55:32.030 to reword some of that for it to all be cohesive 00:55:32.030 --> 00:55:34.349 and make sense. That's just what happens sometimes 00:55:34.349 --> 00:55:37.090 when you get stories on Reddit. So it wasn't 00:55:37.090 --> 00:55:40.110 the most well -written, but that is a thing of 00:55:40.110 --> 00:55:43.110 nightmares, truly. Like, that sounds like an 00:55:43.110 --> 00:55:45.449 event that would come straight out of Stephen 00:55:45.449 --> 00:55:52.510 King's It novel. So, the ultimate question. These 00:55:52.510 --> 00:55:56.110 stories are so terrifying. Should we be scared 00:55:56.110 --> 00:56:00.679 of clowns? Well, despite my fear, I will say 00:56:00.679 --> 00:56:03.519 the good news is statistically it is very, very 00:56:03.519 --> 00:56:06.920 unlikely that you would ever be hurt or killed 00:56:06.920 --> 00:56:10.860 by a clown. You're more likely to be killed by 00:56:10.860 --> 00:56:14.159 your local doctor. Luckily, there seems to have 00:56:14.159 --> 00:56:16.960 just been a handful of killer clowns in the last 00:56:16.960 --> 00:56:21.079 century, like John Wayne Gacy and Sheila Warren. 00:56:22.579 --> 00:56:25.719 Killings known to have been completed by clowns 00:56:25.929 --> 00:56:32.550 account for less than 1%, .0088 % of all murders 00:56:32.550 --> 00:56:37.230 in the U .S. to be exact. Arrests of clowns in 00:56:37.230 --> 00:56:40.110 the U .S. also by and large have just been for 00:56:40.110 --> 00:56:45.130 minor offenses. But nevertheless, there is, and 00:56:45.130 --> 00:56:47.469 I think there always will be, this little part 00:56:47.469 --> 00:56:51.309 in the back of my mind that imagines walking 00:56:51.309 --> 00:56:54.429 through the woods at night and there being a 00:56:54.429 --> 00:56:59.139 clown. Lurking in the shadows. So whether that 00:56:59.139 --> 00:57:03.500 is a rational fear or not, the concept of clowns, 00:57:03.500 --> 00:57:06.039 the history behind them, and these encounter 00:57:06.039 --> 00:57:09.440 stories are certainly fascinating, terrifying, 00:57:09.800 --> 00:57:19.219 and perplexing. So that, everybody, is my clowns 00:57:19.219 --> 00:57:22.659 episode. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. 00:57:23.309 --> 00:57:26.889 I really faced my fears with this one. So I hope 00:57:26.889 --> 00:57:29.690 you appreciate that. If you did enjoy this episode, 00:57:29.909 --> 00:57:32.210 let me know. If you're watching on YouTube, like 00:57:32.210 --> 00:57:34.929 this video, subscribe, drop a comment down below. 00:57:35.289 --> 00:57:37.829 If you're listening on Spotify, you can also 00:57:37.829 --> 00:57:40.110 leave a comment and we can have a little chit 00:57:40.110 --> 00:57:43.090 chat back and forth. If you haven't done so yet, 00:57:43.130 --> 00:57:46.409 I would also love it so much if you tell a couple 00:57:46.409 --> 00:57:49.190 people about the show and leave a five -star 00:57:49.190 --> 00:57:53.099 review, rating, all of the things. on Apple Podcasts, 00:57:53.099 --> 00:57:56.760 Spotify. You can also rate and follow on goodpods 00:57:56.760 --> 00:57:59.780 .com. That also really helps me. There's other 00:57:59.780 --> 00:58:02.239 support links down below too, like my merch, 00:58:02.380 --> 00:58:05.420 my buy me a coffee link. And if you are interested 00:58:05.420 --> 00:58:08.539 in joining the Perplexed Society, go check out 00:58:08.539 --> 00:58:11.539 patreon .com slash perplexity mystery podcast. 00:58:12.199 --> 00:58:14.719 I also just wanted to say really quick, because 00:58:14.719 --> 00:58:17.099 I've had quite a few listener requests for topics 00:58:17.099 --> 00:58:21.619 coming in. If you've made a request, I I'm pretty 00:58:21.619 --> 00:58:24.480 sure I've gotten back to everybody. It is in 00:58:24.480 --> 00:58:27.139 the queue. I haven't forgotten about you. I know 00:58:27.139 --> 00:58:29.420 it's taking a while to get to some of those requests 00:58:29.420 --> 00:58:32.719 and I apologize. I'm trying to bring a lot of 00:58:32.719 --> 00:58:36.219 variety because this is a mystery show. So I'm 00:58:36.219 --> 00:58:39.360 trying to cycle between a true crime, a paranormal, 00:58:39.500 --> 00:58:43.059 a history episode, you know, so those requests 00:58:43.059 --> 00:58:45.840 are coming. I'm looking forward to doing them. 00:58:45.880 --> 00:58:48.059 I love when you guys send me requests. If you 00:58:48.059 --> 00:58:49.940 want to send a topic request, you can always 00:58:49.940 --> 00:58:53.480 email that to me or DM me on Instagram. And as 00:58:53.480 --> 00:58:55.880 a matter of fact, I will be covering a listener 00:58:55.880 --> 00:58:59.239 request next week. So be on the lookout for that. 00:58:59.860 --> 00:59:05.360 And yeah, I hate clowns. This didn't make me 00:59:05.360 --> 00:59:09.579 feel any better about them. But it's very interesting 00:59:09.579 --> 00:59:12.480 to learn about. And yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed 00:59:12.480 --> 00:59:14.639 it. You all are amazing. I hope you have the 00:59:14.639 --> 00:59:18.480 best week. Please stay safe. Don't get killed 00:59:18.480 --> 00:59:22.199 by a clown. I hope one doesn't tap on your second 00:59:22.199 --> 00:59:25.400 story balcony window. And I will talk to you 00:59:25.400 --> 00:59:29.579 all next week. Bye. Thank you for listening to 00:59:29.579 --> 00:59:33.159 Perplexity, a mystery podcast hosted, written, 00:59:33.300 --> 00:59:36.719 and produced by Kedra Brannan. Assistant producer 00:59:36.719 --> 00:59:40.389 is TJ McRae. If you enjoyed today's episode, 00:59:40.690 --> 00:59:43.269 tell the world about it by leaving a five -star 00:59:43.269 --> 00:59:47.329 review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It really 00:59:47.329 --> 00:59:50.650 is the best way to support. Have a topic request 00:59:50.650 --> 00:59:53.550 or a perplexing story of your own you'd like 00:59:53.550 --> 01:00:19.940 to share? Until next week, stay curious.