I’ll be honest, I hate clowns. I wish I could tell you why and pinpoint my fear to a specific time in my life, but I can’t. I wasn’t one of those unfortunate kids who went to a friend’s birthday party when I was younger and had to have my mom come pick me up because the clown scared me. Nor was I one of those dare devil middle school students who went to haunted houses where the clown brought more tears than laughter. And although I have seen the movie IT, I was about 13-years-old by that time, and the fear had consumed me long before. So who knows why my fear of clowns spans so deep? All I know is that I thought I would never have to worry about it, that is until the “clown sightings” became something everyone was talking about.

Roughly a week ago, I was sitting in the library with a friend of mine when she mentioned that she had received a text from a girl that attends Illinois State University bringing some horrifying news. Clowns had made their way to the campus of ISU, and students were terrified. Initially, I thought it was funny. It seemed like something that a group of college students would do just to mess around with kids on campus, but then it got worse. Moments later, she received a text from another friend who attends Kansas University saying that the exact same thing occurred on their campus. Thus, the humor that had consumed me moments before now caused me to worry.

Over the past week, “clown sightings” have become the headline of far too many news stories. Florida, Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, and North Carolina have all been on high alert as there have been several sightings in each state. Worst of all, what may have started as an innocent prank has taken a treacherous turn as the individuals in the costumes have been harmed in the past few days.

It has been reported that certain states plan on taking drastic measures when encountering a clown, specifically because some have been reported carrying knives, while others have been said to try to persuade children to come into the woods with them by offering them candy.

As a college student who frequents the library late at night during the weeks, I have experienced a large amount of conflicting emotions this past week. One of which being the fear of coming across a clown on my walks home, and the other being reassurance that schools are trying to take action and be warry of the epidemic.

Regardless of how the situation is handled, there is really only one thing we are all thinking: why clowns?

Clowns have been a representation of laughter and childhood shenanigans for decades, and now they have been turned into something we have to fear. Perhaps it all started with a group of friends who thought it could be funny to get together and scare a few innocent kids, but it has been taken to a whole new level. Parents should not have to worry about their kids being taken, students should not have to worry about walking home late at night, and children should not be afraid to trick-or-treat this Halloween due to the uncertainty of what the night could bring. Maybe the point is to evoke fear in us by taking something so pleasant, and making it menacing. If this is the goal, then congratulations to whoever set this as their mission, but know that you have not won. After all, people vs. clowns? I would vote for the people.

For now, all we can do is hope that the problem is able to resolve itself and no one has to go on worrying about the terrifying surplus of clowns. Although it would be easier to know exactly when this issue is going to go away, we will have to live with the uncertainty and keep our wits about us.

Oh, and one last thing. For those of you who are wondering why scary clowns, I am sorry to say I don’t have an answer for you.

Perhaps you should take that one up with Stephen King.