First came the man in a clown costume.

Then came the calls to the police.

Reports about a rogue clown handing out candy to children briefly caused alarm in Clarksville, Tenn., on Thursday, after a man with a white painted face and a red nose was seen driving by a bus stop and motioning for the children to come near, according to the police and local news reports. Two students reported the incident, and a witness who spotted the clown in his car called the police, the authorities said.

The episode screamed of “stranger danger” and brought to mind the Great Clown Panic of 2016, when tales of clowns lurking near the woods and under streetlights ignited a national hysteria, although many of the reports were found to be false. The reported sightings played on a cultural fear of clowns and eventually led to at least a dozen arrests in multiple states.

The brief panic in Tennessee also happened to coincide with the release of the trailer for “It Chapter Two,” a follow-up to the clown horror movie, set to hit theaters this year.

But after a swift investigation, the Clarksville authorities determined that the latest fright was a false alarm: He was not a bad clown. He was simply misunderstood.

The clown turned out to be a “nice man” in his 70s who “dresses up once a year on his birthday as a clown and hands out candy,” the Clarksville Police Department said on its Facebook page on Thursday, which was the man’s birthday. “We went to a couple of places where he frequents, and they verified he was at those places this morning dressed up as a clown.”

After giving out candy at local businesses, the man wanted to give the rest to the children at the bus stop, the police said. His intentions were good, even if the optics weren’t.

“The great clown mystery has been solved,” the police department said in its post. “EVERYONE CAN NOW BREATHE!!!!”

Online, he was not so easily forgiven. “This is 2019,” one person wrote. “You can’t dress as a clown and pass candy out to random children.” Others urged empathy for an older man who was trying do something nice. And then there were those who said that whatever had happened, it had not changed their view of clowns.

Kelly Monfort, a professional clown who goes by “Mr. Twister,” said that the mention of a clown can be a “trigger word” that generates news coverage. But he said clowns regularly bring joy to children and adults alike — at birthday parties, in hospitals and at volunteer events.

“We are caring people who love what we do,” said Mr. Monfort, who is the president of the South East Clown Association, a membership group that represents 10 states, including Tennessee.

He said it sounded as if the clown in Clarksville was “out trying to do something nice and trying to be a happiness spreader in the world,” but he cautioned that clowns have to be careful about handing out candy, particularly outside the context of an official event.

When working at an event, he said, he typically hands out items such as stickers or a balloon animal rather than candy. And when he has to run an errand while still in costume, going through a McDonald’s drive-through or running into a Walmart on his way to or from work, he tries to keep his interactions lighthearted and professional, he said.

“I absolutely love going places dressed as a clown,” Mr. Monfort, 31, said. “Of course there are people who are like, ‘Oh, I’m scared of clowns.’” To that, he said, he jokes back: “Oh, I’m scared of people!”

Being a clown, he said, “is not just throwing on a mask or popping on a nose. It’s an art form.”

The Clarksville clown, who has not been identified, could not be reached for comment. But the episode is a closed case as far as the police are concerned.

Jim Knoll, a spokesman for the Clarksville Police Department, said that in today’s world, “even the best intentions can be misconstrued.”

“He was just doing what he has done for years but overextended his kindness by today’s standards,” Mr. Knoll said. “He was apologetic and probably had his sunny day turned into rain.”

The clown, he said, has been through enough.

Follow Sarah Mervosh on Twitter: @smervosh.

Source: Read Full Article