Clowns are a source of childlike amusement, but they can also be scary and weird. Life is also scary and weird. It's not a coincidence. Perhaps clowns are like specters of anxiety and discomfort, bogeymen that personify our deepest fears.
"These sorts of panics tend to surface when there's underlying social anxiety," Radford says. "This is an election year, there's lots of political and ideological divisions, there's also of course [the awareness of] school shootings and terrorist attacks." That last part explains the kernel of concern from parents and law enforcement. Even IF most of these sightings and incidents are overblown, why take chances?
Radford says the clown sightings of the 1980s came at a similar time -- one of cultural upheaval. "There was the satanic panic, the hysteria over Dungeons and Dragons, and sensationalized media reports of Satanists trying to abduct children," he says.
It's a different world today, but underlying patterns are the same.
"These reports get circulated, often sensationalized, there's a smattering of rumors and urban legends, and then there's some idiot who actually dresses up, and then before you know it there's lockdowns and arrests," he says.