REMEMBER WHEN: Creepy Clowns Invaded the SouthCoast

There are few things in life more terrifying to me than clowns. And at this time two years ago, creepy clown hysteria was at an all-time high (as was my anxiety.) 

October of 2016 was most definitely the month of the creepy clowns. Nationwide, people were reporting sightings of creepy clowns on dark streets, in the woods behind their houses, in corn fields, and even just at their local Walmarts lurking in the parking lot.

I have been scared to the point of panic attacks of clowns since I was little and as soon as I heard there were creepy clowns on the SouthCoast, I became scared of my own shadow.

The first clown sighting happened in the Swansea Mall parking lot on October 3, 2016. That clown wasn't doing much aside from standing in the parking lot and creepily staring into people's car windows. A few weeks later, there was a clown reportedly lurking in a Fall River cemetery.

After a surge of sightings here on the SouthCoast the local police were actually more worried about 'clown hunters' (people who were threatening to do bodily harm to anyone seen in a clown costume) than they were about the clowns themselves. Although they were advising people to choose another costume if they planned to be a clown and encouraging people to report suspicious behavior. Some stores even stopped selling clown masks and costumes to try to quell the hysteria.

When it all finally died down, I was so relieved that I wasn't constantly expecting to see a clown face in my rearview mirror at night. However, here we are, two years later, and it seems like there are some people trying to bring the whole clown thing back.

Cheers to the clowns!