Hulu released the documentary Clown Panic on October 13 as part of its annual Huluween, and it explores the mysterious clown sightings across the United States in 2016, beginning in South Carolina, where children spotted one in the woods. The clown sightings sparked public panic, leading to lockdowns and school cancellations.

Clown Panic uses archival content and interviews to probe how social media turned a myth into hysteria, although some people died as a result of the so-called “killer clowns.”

Promotional Gag Stunt

The clown panic began in August 2016, when a clown holding black balloons was lurking around Green Bay, Wisconsin. A photo of the clown, later revealed to be named Gags, was part of a promotional stunt for a short film by Adam Krause, a writer, filmmaker, and producer, who came forward after the situation went viral.

Krause explained in a Facebook post that most of the photos were actually captured in May 2016, and there was, in fact, not a killer clown epidemic, or so we thought at the time.

Clown Sightings in Greenville

Within the month after Krause’s stunt went viral, several clown sightings were reported in Greenville, South Carolina. One local, Nat Arnold, was playing basketball with his brother and cousin when he said a clown popped up in the woods.

“Suddenly, a clown just popped out from behind the tree,” Arnold said in Clown Panic. “It felt like we were being looked at as prey. We grabbed our basketball and just ran.” His mother said that she also heard moaning and chain-clanging sounds outside of their apartment later, and then a red balloon surfaced on the pond in the woods near them.

Residents alleged that the clowns were trying to lure children into the woods, at times using “large amounts of money.” People began coming forward with their experiences and sharing the instances where they saw the clowns, but it is unknown how many of those were fictitious. Authorities were called numerous times, and each time they investigated the scene, they found no evidence of what was being reported.

“There were allegations that they had seen these clowns with guns, but our investigators responded and didn’t find any shell casings or anything like that,” Master Deputy Drew Pinciaro said at the time. “At this point we have not found any information or evidence to corroborate anything. I am not saying it is not true, but we haven’t found any evidence yet.”

Clowns Turn Violent

Several stories surfaced during Clown Panic, with some victims recounting their personal encounters. Although people reported clown sightings across the states, some did not end in false reports. A woman in Reading, Ohio, in September 2016, alleged she was attacked by a clown, which led to the temporary closure of surrounding schools

In October 2016, a man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that he was walking his dog when a clown assaulted him. The man said the clown approached him and hit him in the face, but when the dog defended his owner, the clown fled. The victim walked away with only minor cuts and bruises. 

Days later, in New York City, a teenager said he was riding the subway when, as he tried to exit, a clown tried to block him in. When he got off, the clown chased him through the station until he arrived on the street. When he turned to look back at the clown, the person behind the mask was brandishing a kitchen knife.

The only fatal clown sighting was in late September 2016 in Reading, Pennsylvania. 16-year-old Christian Torres was wearing a clown mask while riding his bike through his neighborhood when he was fatally stabbed by Avery Valentin-Blair, who had a long-standing fear of clowns, according to his mother, Tonie Vasquez.

Torres’ sister, Janesa, said an argument erupted from the two worlds colliding and during the fight, Valentin-Blair stabbed the victim. “[Torres] was never trying to harm anybody,” Janesa said in Clown Panic. “He just had a mask on top of his head.”

Valentin-Blair was convicted of third-degree murder and aggravated assault on March 3, 2018, and sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison for the fatal incident.

Arrests Made During Clown Panic

Several others were arrested in connection with the clown panic that had plagued America. A little girl from Athens, Georgia, was arrested for bringing a knife to school because she feared clowns. 

A young man in Middlesboro, Kentucky, was arrested for wearing a clown suit and camping out in the woods near an apartment complex. Jonathan Martin, then 20, was arrested in September 2016 and charged with disorderly conduct and wearing a hood or mask in public. 

A 16-year-old in Alabama was also arrested for creating a Facebook page called “Kaleb Klown,” where he made terrorist threats. Authorities also arrested and charged three others for similar incidents using Facebook pages. Makayla Smith, 20, and two minors made threats as “Flomo Klown” and got the school put in lockdown. 

Smith received five years’ probation for the incident, but that does not reflect who she is. “It makes me emotional because that’s not the person I am,” Smith said in Clown Panic. “It wasn’t supposed to be nothing evil or nothing scary or nothing like that. It was just supposed to be one big prank.”