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Creepy Clown Sighting Analysis

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Overview
Creepy Clown Sightings refer to reports of people dressed as clowns attempting to lure kids into the woods in various locations in the United States. After police began receiving the reports in North and South Carolina in late August 2016, many internet users speculated the sightings were a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming 2017 remake of the 1986 horror film It.
Background
In late August 2016, rumors began circulating that clowns were attempting to lure children in the woods behind an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, leading to increased police patrols in the area. One woman claimed her son had seen clowns in the woods, who whispered and flashed green laser lights before running off. According to another report, …show more content…

It’s illegal, it’s dangerous, it’s inappropriate, it’s creating community concern.”
On September 5th, the North Carolina news station WXII 12 aired a segment about clown sightings near a wooded area in Winston-Salem (shown below).

On September 7th, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina published a Facebook post reporting that two clown sightings had been “investigated and found to be false” (shown below).

That day, the distributor of director Rob Zombie’s upcoming clown-themed horror film 31 claimed that the film was not involved in the “creepy clowns and costumed characters found roaming the South.”[7] On September 8th, several posts about the clown sightings were submitted to the /r/OutOfTheLoop[2][3][4] subreddit, where many speculated that the reports were part of a viral marketing campaign for the upcoming horror film It.
Florida Sighting
On September 22nd, 2016, Facebook user Caden Munro Parmelee posted a video of a clown standing on the side of the road at night, claiming he came across the costumed figure while driving (shown below). Within one week, the video gained over 1.1 million views, 20,500 shares and 30

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