By Tim Binnall
Authorities in an English town are warning residents to be on the lookout for a 'killer clown' after a pair of children reported encountering the haunting harlequin late last week. According to a local media report, the kids told police that they were riding their bikes near a forest known as Joyden's Wood on Friday evening when they were approached by an individual dressed as a clown. Chillingly, the grease-painted miscreant told the children to "run or die" and was thought to be wielding a knife.
That suspicion is uncertain as, in what should be no surprise, the kids quickly fled the scene before they could get a good look at the ne'er-do-well's weapon. When the frightening youngsters returned home, they reported their eerie run-in to the cops, who dispatched officers to the scene. However, in keeping with the 'phantom clown' phenomenon, the harlequin in question was nowhere to be found. Nonetheless, residents were cautioned about the creepy incident and, presumably, asked to report any similar suspicious activity to police.
The weird case comes on the heels of another unsettling report earlier this month in which a man dressed as a clown and armed with a stun gun chased after some children in Long Island, New York. And while the two encounters are unrelated, they could be a harbinger of things to come over the next few weeks as Halloween paraphernalia quickly replaces 'Back to School' supplies in stores. That said, those wishing to menace strangers while taking on the iconic guise would be wise to note this story out of Texas where a man's decision to kick a clown between the legs was determined by a judge to have been done in self-defense.