The unsolved mystery of the phantom clowns stems from a series of reports of clowns harassing young school children in the greater Boston area during April and May 1981. Although police and school officials were notified of these mysterious sightings, no one has been arrested in connection with these events, and the case of the phantom clowns has since been closed, written off as the product of the wild imaginations of children by Boston police.
In early May 1981, after many mysterious reports by the children in the Boston area, Daniel O’Connell, Investigative Counselor of Boston Public Schools, sent the following memo to the school principals in the city:
It has been brought to the attention of the police department and the district office that adults dressed as clowns have been bothering children to and from school. Please advise all students that they must stay away from strangers, especially ones dressed as clowns.
On May 5 some children in the Brookline, Massachusetts, area saw two adults dressed in multicolored clothes and with painted faces. The clowns tried to lure the children into a van by offering them candy if they went for a ride. The Brookline children never entered the van and told their parents upon going home. This prompted many upset calls to the Boston Police Department. The numerous children all gave a clear description of the van: it was black with a broken headlight and no hubcaps. Shortly thereafter, the Boston Police Department received numerous reports of that van near Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline.
The next day, May 6, the Boston police responded to numerous reports of a van with a broken headlight and no hubcaps driving around the recreational horseshoe site of Franklin Park and around Mary F. Curley School. Unfortunately for the people of Boston, when the police responded to all the calls on May 5 and 6, no van was ever found.
Two days later, on May 8, there were reports that clowns were harassing children in different areas of Boston: East Boston, Charlestown, and Cambridge. There were also sightings in small towns outside of Boston. One report claims that one clown was not wearing any pants. It got to the point that police were pulling over all vans, and of course, clowns who happened to be delivering “clown-o-grams.” However, no one was connected to the case of harassed school children.
To ease the public outcry, the May 9 Boston Globe published an article titled “Police Discount Reports of Clowns Bothering Kids.” The police justified their decision, citing that the only witnesses were children between five and seven years old: not one adult ever saw a clown. They claimed it was simply the imagination of the young children. The case was closed. In Boston, anyway.
The sightings began in numerous other cities shortly afterward: Kansas City, Omaha, Pittsburgh, and Denver. The craze in Kansas City was titled “The Killer Clown Affair.” The police report summarizes the events as follows:
On May 22, police searched for a yellow van that was seen at numerous elementary schools. One mother claims to have witnessed seeing two young females approach a yellow van and talk with someone inside. The girls then screamed and ran away causing the yellow van to drive off. The young females told their mother they talked with a person dressed as a clown holding a knife. The clown told them to get in the vehicle.
That day police responded to numerous calls about a clown in a yellow van. Like the case in Boston, the police labeled it “group hysteria” and quit following leads after no yellow van or clown was located.
Many researchers argue that the reports of phantom clowns are the product of hysteria and fantasy. Also, they claim the phantom clowns phenomenon began as an urban legend fueled by the fear of clowns that escalated in the late 1970s and 1980s. Many claim that this story is told by parents simply to discourage their kids from talking to strangers and getting into others’ cars.
Kevin Hawk
See also Urban Legends/Urban Belief Tales
Further Reading
Bartholomew, Robert E., and Benjamin Radford. 2011. The Martians Have Landed!: A History of Media-Driven Panics and Hoaxes. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
Brunvand, Jan Harold. 1991. “Someone Keeps Sending in the Phantom Clowns.” Deseret News. August 9. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/177088/SOMEONE-KEEPS-SENDING-IN-THE-PHANTOM-CLOWNS.html?pg=all. Accessed September 24, 2015.
Muise, Peter. 2013. “Evil Phantom Clowns.” New England Folklore blog. http://newenglandfolklore.blogspot.com/2013/04/evil-phantom-clowns.html. Accessed September 24, 2015.
“Phantom Clowns.” 2007. Unexplained-Mysteries.com. http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=111161. Accessed September 24, 2015.