I was talking to my brother-in-law Bryan yesterday and he was telling me about an urban legend my sister had read. It goes something like this:
A babysitter is babysitting for a family for the first time. After giving the sitter their cell phone number and saying goodbye to the kids, they tell her that when the kids are in bed she is welcome to watch TV in their bedroom, as that is the only TV with the satellite hooked up. Later that evening the mother calls to check in and see how things are going, and the sitter says everything is fine, but asks if she can throw a sheet or a blanket over the clown statue in their bedroom, because it's staring eyes are sort of freaking her out.
There is a pause on the phone, and the mother tells her to get the children and get out of the house to call the police. They don't have a clown statue.
A murdering madman is later caught running down the street in a clown costume.
I don't know about you guys, but holy f-ing shit!! I, for one, am so glad I don't babysit anymore. Although I did tell my babysitter last night about this story and she thanked me for freaking her right out, and joked that she wouldn't be babysitting ever again.
I love urban legends, I love how they have this sense of possibility, that it could be true, but they can also strike fear in you like the dickens. I don't find clowns all that funny or cute, but I wouldn't say I am afraid of them. When I looked this story up on
snopes.com, I was amused to note that they listed a few websites for people who fear or hate clowns, but they also listed a few sites in case you need to hire a clown for a party or event.
It's funny that clowns are such an integral part of children's events, but children are the ones most likely to be afraid of them. Take for example a few years ago when Hubby and I took the kids to
A Day Out With Thomas, an exhibition/fair featuring
Thomas the Tank Engine where there were all kinds of "Thomas and Friends"-related activities. The highlight of the day was taking a ride on the Thomas train, which featured entertainment on the ride - clowns.
My kids weren't impressed, and avoided the clowns. In fact, we have a hilarious video of Devon sitting in his seat, continuously leaning out into the aisle to see the clown, whose voice you can hear off-camera. As she gets nearer, he sits up in his chair, rigid, with an expression somewhere between fear and anger.
The following year we went to Day Out With Thomas again, and this time there were MORE clowns, and this time they were doing magic tricks on the train. This was all fine, except this clown made his handkerchief disappear, and when he tried to find it, he grabbed Hubby's foot, saying, "Is it in his shoe?" He shook Hubby's foot, trying to loosen it. Well, Camryn, about 2 years old at the time,
lost her mind! She screamed bloody murder in absolute terror that this clown was attacking her Daddy. She didn't even find it funny when the clown reached in Daddy's shoe and pulled out the handkerchief.
But then again, forget children's events, sometimes clowns make it into adult venues too. The pub where my sister works features this freak of nature among it's decor:
Who in the hell would think of a chef-clown hybrid as part of their decorating, I ask you?
Thoughts on clowns? Scary? Funny?
