In a dystopian themed story that’s just in time for Halloween, a small town is being haunted by a creepy clown leaving riddles for people to solve. Could this mark the comeback of a new creepy clown craze? The last creepy crown uprising happened in 2016, and it’s been pretty quiet ever since. With the new clown getting worldwide coverage, there’s always a chance it could spark a new slate of sightings. But so far, everything’s quiet in other parts of the world.
The Creepy Clown Has Been Haunting a Small Town in Scotland
According to reports in the news and on social media, the creepy clown has been appearing in Skelmorlie, Scotland. Skelmorlie is a small village of just about 2,000 people, Independent reported. The clown is making posts on a Facebook account called Cole Deimos, Independent reported, but it appears that all the videos or photos were taken down except for two, includine one from October 11 captioned, “a message to the media.”
The video shows someone dressed like Pennywise the clown, holding a red balloon, and it shows clips from recent news articles. The video even includes a quote from someone saying that he took down his photos and videos on the account. The video jokes about the clown not being worried about the police. “They have to catch me first anyway, and that’s a dare,” the video notes.
According to Aberdeen Guardian, this clown has visited the village around Halloween every year since 2021, and this time around he’s leaving red balloons around town.
The clown even gave an on-screen TV interview and noted: “Were you not listening? I told you before, this is about fun, nothing more,” Greenock Telegraph reported.
The clown went on to say: “I come up with games with a frightening theme, usually something to do with Hallowe’en, and then the village must unite to solve the clues before times run out which would mean that they lose.”
According to Sky News, locals solved the clown’s riddle again this year, finding red boxes left around town with clues. The clues led to a black cash box that had a mirror inside with “clown” written on it.
One resident told Sky News that this isn’t creepy, but fun.
“Skelmorlie is a wonderful community and that is exactly what Cole Deimos and his Halloween appearances personifies,” they said.
However, the clown had another message and has apparently been leaving more riddles. In a video left on October 22, he (or she) said: “Three years of terror, but not once caught. Many have tried but all have failed. The Skelmorlie clown will never be unveiled. I have a message addressed to the nation. I’ve created a game for the country to play…”
He then shared a riddle and asked people to take a picture at each of those places “with your scariest faces” and post it online with the hashtag #Skelmorlieclown.
The Last Clown Sightings Were in 2016
So far, other clowns haven’t picked up on the trend, even though Skelmorlie Clown has made international news reports. And while this local clown seems to just be a fun seasonal event for the town, the sightings back in 2016 were a lot more confusing.
I reported on the sightings in-depth back then, noting that some were just part of promotions, but many others were mysterious and unsolved. The affected states at the time included Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin. It was really, really extensive. Some seemed to threaten children or appear menacingly at schools, while others were just seen walking down the roads, seemingly minding their own business.
A fascinating thread on Reddit from four years ago asked people who did dress up as clowns in 2016 why they did. Of course, there’s no way to know if the people responding were honestly part of the trend or not. But of those who responded, some said they just thought it was fun (or funny) and wanted to scare people. Others said, however, that while they didn’t dress up as a clown themselves, they did have some creepy encounters.
Those 2016 clowns were definitely a unique trend, and so far it’s looking like it’s not catching on again. But if you want to follow the only current clown story, keep an eye on what’s happening in Scotland.
