In the last week, multiple children have claimed sightings of clowns in the woods after dark just outside their homes in Greenville, S.C. They are reporting to their parents that the clowns are actually speaking to them and trying to lure them deeper into the woods with bait such as money and candy. According to BuzzFeed News, the first known report of this was on August 21 by a woman who stated that her child had "seen clowns in the woods whispering and making strange noises."

"Chains and banging" were also words used to describe what the woman's oldest son heard at the door of their home around the same time frame, reported by BuzzFeed News. These warnings at first were brushed off as simply children's imaginations, but after days passed and an increasing number of children and even parents started seeing the strange circus characters for themselves, the Police Department are taking matters a lot more seriously. "It’s getting a little ridiculous. My son, he’s seen 10 at one time. It doesn’t make no sense that they would be targeting kids,” the same mother said to the local news station. After listening to her sons' concerns, she peered into the suspected area one night to see for herself and reported that she "observed several clowns in the woods flashing green laser lights," as she stated to the local officers. Further in addition to these reports, a local minor resident called 911 after seeing a clown depart from the wooded area near his apartment complex. An unrelated resident "saw a large-figured clown with a blinking nose, standing under a post light near the garbage dumpster area." She reported this to the police the following Sunday. All of the sightings have lead police to further investigate the area immediately after the calls, but of course, none seem to have had any sightings themselves.

We can't help but think of how much this terrifying event resembles a horror movie, one in particular would be "It," where clowns search for young and naive children to kidnap in rural areas. I, myself, have always been completely horrified of all clowns and anything clown-related, as I'm sure most of you are. So, this being a real-life event happening and seen on the internet as news is quite possibly everyone's biggest nightmare. Is this just a harmless, much too elaborate and far in advance Halloween prank? Or could this ideal horror movie actually be coming to life by some twisted child predators? Either way, it's gone too far.