I Was Never Afraid Of Clowns

Clowns were something people like me would have a big fear of. Clowns can be silly, funny, some can be creepy and nightmare fueling. Depends on what you think about them.

Clowns were suppose to be funny, silly, entertaining, but adults I know of just think of Pennywise from IT. I never really liked clowns, not because they looked creepy and after seeing IT, it’s just that it didn’t really appeal to me. But after what I experienced, I never want to see another clown for as long as I live.

It was April 22 2013, I was in School finishing 6th period before leaving, when the bell rung, I packed my things and headed out. While I was walking to the door, I saw a note that said that a carnival was coming to the school from April 22 - May 2. I was excited! So I went home to tell my mom. She asked: “When it will open?” I forgot to read when it opened, so I told her I didn’t know.

Later that night, I decided to walk to my school to see if the carnival is there. I asked my mom if I can leave, she said yes. So I grabbed my phone and left. It was a 8 minute walk, before I saw flashing lights behind some trees. I assumed that it was opened. I was right. I saw a few ferris wheels, a lot of roller coasters, and some snack stands. I was excited and went to the carnival.

Meanwhile, I was just walking looking at the roller coasters. I wished I would ride them, but it said they needed tickets. So I just went looking at stuff. I saw a tent with red and white stripes. I decided to walk in but not sit on the bleachers. I saw clowns on a stage performing some tricks like juggling, riding a ball, and one was just doing a dance. I stayed in there for about 5 minutes before leaving.

I saw that it was 9:57. I had homework to do, so I decided to leave. My home was down a long way street so it was nothing but a straight road. Then I heard someone whisper: “Hey! Kid!” I turned around to see a clown holding his rubber nose. He started to honk the nose about 10 times then put it back on his face. “Say kid. Do you want a balloon?” He asked. I didn’t know what to say, would I take a balloon from a clown? Then I said: “No thanks, I have a lot of balloons at my house.” Which was true because I keep my old balloons I ever kept when I was a little girl. “Oh.” He said. “Would you care to take one more? Pretty please?” Now I’m assuming this guy just wants to sell balloons just so he can get money. “Look man if you’re trying to make me buy a balloon, I’m sorry, I don’t got any money. I’m 15 years old.” I said back. Then out of nowhere he turned and walked down the opposite way of the road. So I turned and continued walking back home.

But for some reason, every 20 seconds if I turned around, I would keep expecting to see that clown again. And every time I turned around, I would see nothing. Then I heard a twig snap. I looked around, not knowing exactly where the sound came from. I pulled out my phone, and used the flashlight app to have a flashlight turn on. After I did, the flashlight exposed the exact same clown from before. He said: “Why won’t you buy a balloon?” I replied back: “Because like I said, I don’t have any money.” Then he let go of the balloon and started giggling. Not a giggle from the voice, a giggle of a low and raspy voice. Then he started laughing out loud and ran at me! I screamed and ran down the street. I heard his footsteps get closer and closer. I picked up some rocks and threw at him. This actually slowed him down. So I ran and went into my house which was a minute away.

When I got in, I was breathing heavily. My mom walked to me and asked: “What’s wrong?!” I told her that I felt like I was being chased. Then she assured me that no one was chasing me. This didn’t calmed me down at all. I went upstairs to do my homework. After I was done, I took a shower, brushed and flossed my teeth, and went to bed with my door closed and locked and my window curtain shut covering the entire window because I feel like the clown is still out there...

At exactly 2:00 AM, I woke up, I didn’t know why, but I thought I just heard something, and then I was correct. I heard what sounded like a rock being thrown to my window. I refused to open the curtain to look outside. “Say kid, are you sleeping up there?” I began to feel like having a fever. It was the same voice of the clown. I still refused to pull the curtains and look outside. “I know you’re awake, come outside and take this balloon!” I just laid in bed not doing anything. Then I heard: “What the hell are you doing!?” It was my dad. He started raging at the clown and the clown ran away. I still laid in bed and try to fall asleep. And eventually, I did.

The next day, it was 3rd period. I was doing some test I didn’t finished yesterday. Then the principal called on the intercom and sounded really panicked, he said: “We are going into lockdown, this is not a drill, please lock your doors and close the blinds to the windows if you have one, turn off the lights, and hide in a corner.” So my teacher turned off the lights, locked the door, and closed the blinds to the window. We all huddled in a corner. 3 minutes of nothing but silence, we heard a giggle. I was in shock. That giggle, was the exact, same giggle of the clown I encountered last night.

And I couldn’t believe this, when I heard his giggle reach our door. There were so many other doors he could’ve gone into first, why would he go to the one I’m in? He started pounding on the door and giggled like an insane asylum patient. He wouldn’t go away, he was there for what felt like an hour. Then, he stopped and ran back down the hall. 5 minutes of silence, the principal called on the intercom and said: “The lockdown is officially over.” We were all in frozen shock of what just happened.

On April 30, I was at a park just taking a stroll. And then, I saw bright colors in the corner of my eye. I turned to see flowers. I was expecting to see that clown again. Every time I turn in a 360, I would always expect to see that clown with his stupid smile. Eventually, I did at one point. The worst part, I was in a dead end. There was no escape. I just yelled: “What do you want from me?!” I didn’t really expect an answer, but, I did get one. “Because you upset me that you wouldn’t buy a balloon from me.” I told him: “OH MY GOD! I JUST SAID! I! DON’T! HAVE! ANY! MONEY!” Then he said: “You are a liar!”

Then behind him, I heard: “Hey! What are you doing?!” He turned around. It was a cop. The clown didn’t say anything. The cop pulled out his gun and threatened him that if he doesn’t answer, he’ll shoot. The clown put his hand up and got on the ground. The cop came over and put his hands in cuffs and asked me: “Was this guy harming you?” I said yes. He asked: “Would you like to press charges?” I was about to say yes, but the clown turned his head and gave me a hateful stare. I said no. And then the clown slowly turned his head back. The cop took him to his car and drove away.

I went home. Not wanting to talk to anyone about what just happened. It was one of the most terrifying things that ever happened to my life. I hope nobody and I do mean nobody, has to experience this kind of fear ever again. Please if you see a clown following you, run away and call 911, they will try to do something insane, possibly kill you. So like I said, call 911 if a clown follows you around. I don’t want this horrifying experience to happen to you.