Back in the autumn of 2016, the killer clown craze left people across the UK terrified to leave their homes after dark.
The streets were plagued with terrifying clowns who wore huge smiles while they ran around wielding large knives.
While it might seem like the stuff of horror movies, the bizarre – and totally terrifying ‘killer clown’ craze had the entire nation in fear.
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While the first ‘killer clown’ appearances occurred in the US, the scary craze quickly spread across the globe, with the UK being particularly hard hit.
(Image: Instagram/ Clown sightings)
Police up and down the country were plagued with calls from people who had spotted or been chased by clowns.
Although most of the clown activity was simply pranksters trying to scare people, there were some reports of clowns partaking in criminal activity.
Fear of the craze spread further due to people sharing photos and videos of these horrifying incidents online.
One of the most notable incidents involved teen Michael March, then 18, who wore a clown mask while brandished an axe at a pregnant woman.
(Image: MDM)
He also banged the weapon to scare a couple walking past a pub in South Shields in October 2016.
March, who was the first killer clown to be jailed, was detained for six months in a young offenders institution.
Another incident saw a 19-year-old arrested at Brunel University in Uxbridge in a prank video gone wrong.
The student later apologised for the “chainsaw-wielding” prank while dressed as a clown.
During the height of the craze, Thames Valley Police received 14 reports of people being intimidated by clowns in just two days.
Meanwhile, Gloucestershire Police were called six times in 48 hours.
Although most of the ‘killer clown’ activity soon stopped, there have since been a number of incidents across the country throughout the years since 2016.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Last year, a group of teenagers dressed up as killer clowns sporting ‘huge sharp teeth’ from Netflix horror smash The Curse of Bridge Hollow and terrorising locals.
While a clown was revealed to be stalking a village leaving residents terrified, while the demonic clown took to social media to mock police and target villagers.
Cloe Deimos, the Facebook profile name of the clown, sent ominous messages out on his social media as he warns of a ‘hideous grin’ and locals are ‘terrified’
Now with the Terrifier 3 film now in cinemas there are fears that the ‘killer clown’ craze will resurface after the wave of killer clowns allegedly taking influence from another scary movie clown.
(Image: Facebook/ Clown sightings)
It is believed the creepy clown costumes grew in popularity due to Stephen King’s horror novel IT, released in 1986.
In 2017, a film adaption was released featuring Pennywise the clown who terrorises children in Maine, America which reignited the craze and caused pranksters to adopt the disguise.
With Halloween nearly here, there are concerns that people may opt to dress up as the terrifying clown.
Have you seen any killer clowns recently? Let us know on Facebook or email webnews@dailystar.co.uk
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