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Phantom Clowns
NoImage
None
Background
Type Being
Continent North America
Country United States
One-Time? No
Theories  · Criminals
 · Ghosts

The Phantom Clowns were the focus of a long string of harassment reports from the Boston, Massachusetts area wherein disturbing clowns were seeing attempting to molest young children. The sightings mainly took place in the spring of 1981.

Appearance[]

The criminals were described as being dressed as clowns, with white faces, red noses, and colorful clothing. They often drove black or brightly-colored vans in an attempt to lure children into them, and they sometimes try to lure in their victims with ice cream.

Some say that in the middle of the night they go to check on their children. when they find the children aren't there, the window appears open into the view of a clown leading the children into the woods.

Possible Explanations[]

There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:

  • Criminals
  • Ghosts
  • Mass Hysteria

Notable Encounters[]

On May 6, 1981, the Boston, Massachusetts police released a warning that men dressed as clowns were harassing elementary school children. One of the men was seen wearing a clown suit just from the waist up; from the waist down, he was naked. According to reports, he had driven a black van near Franklin Park in the Roxbury area of Boston between 4:00 and 6:00 PM.

I wanted to tell you about my Clown in a Van story. When I was 12 years old and my brother 8, my parents would bring us to their friend's house who also had two kids, ages 11 and 8. So all the kids would play together and we would gather up other neighborhood kids and play huge games of capture the flag, etc. One night around 10 the four of us were going to meet a huge group of people at this park. On our way there we were closely followed by a big black van with tinted windows and what looked like a dude dressed up like a clown. We started getting a little freaked out, so we cut through some yards to get across the block and avoid the van. A little big later, we saw the van creeping along another street a little bit down the street from where we were and we ran through some more yards and got to the park and met everyone. In the middle of our game we saw the van pull up to the park and sit there for a while.

It eventually left. So, the next day I see on the news that a guy driving a black van dressed like a clown got arrested in a mall parking lot after he tried to get some teenage girls in his van. He also had a record of being a sexual deviant! This had to be back in like 1992 or '93, but I still have that memory.

-Brandon Perras, Weird Massachusetts

Trivia[]

  • Before long, reports also came in of creepy men dressed as rabbits, Spider-Man, and a gorilla trying to entice a boy into a vehicle.
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North American Beings
Axeman Of New Orléans · Bandage Man · Bunny Man · Black Flash · Butterfly People of Joplin · Cloak Man of Clifton Heights · Danbury Frog People · Dark Baby · Donkey Lady · Grinning Man · Harlequin · Houston Batman · Invisible Man of Palmetto · Mad Gasser of Mattoon · Maryland Goatman · Mauston Birdman · Melonheads · Mercy Brown Vampire · Mexican Being of Light · Muppet Clown · NASA Gargoyle · New England Faceless People · Northfield Pigman · Ohio Bridge Trolls · Pedro the Pygmy · Phantom Barber · Phantom Clowns · Phantom Sniper of Camden · Phantom Whistler of Louisiana · Pig Lady · Pope Lick Monster · Porterville Gnome · Richmond Vampire · Santa Lucias Dark Watchers · The Smiley Face Killer · Stroudsburg Rain Man · Subway Man · The Green Man · Third Eye Man · Toronto Tunnel Monster · Toxic Lady
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