As spine-chilling as ghouls and vampires may seem, this year clowns top the list. Will a humble, usually bustling Sutton encounter the unprecedented sightings of killer clowns? The Halloween celebrations are at the heart of many young people’s current affairs, including those of Miss Ali. In this interview, she shares her thoughts and experiences.
What was the first thing you felt when you heard about the clown craze possibly coming to Sutton?
“When I first heard about the clown craze, I did not particularly believe it. I thought it was just some sort of idiotic background noise on social media. That is pretty much all I felt until even reliable news sources began to report of the chaos caused by clowns in the lead up to Halloween.”
How has this affected your Halloween celebrations this year?
“When it came to Halloween, the thought of clowns committing terror attacks remained at the back of my mind. It certainly stopped me from going to a lot of parties in the weekend since it has made me quite afraid of travelling in and around Sutton at the vulnerable hours of night. Yet, I did still celebrate it with my family on the Monday. I have been partying in Sutton all the way through to early morning so many times and just to know that events like those of the clown craze have taken place is scary.”
Why do you think people are getting tied up in the anti-social workings of the clown craze?
“Rumour has it that it is occurring ever since the creepy forces leaped out in the soon- to- be released film adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel, ‘It’. I also think it is due to the releases of a book with ‘Pennywise the clown’ who terrorises children in a small town of America. It seems that this sparked the clown havoc on social media posted by our transatlantic cousins and made Brits eager to bring the chaos to the UK. If I am not mistaken, I have the notion that young people have also fallen for this clown craze head over heels. It is very disappointing of our youth to act in such a disgusting way. The events of the terrorism and attacks stemming from the craze have made me realise that anyone really has the potential to hurt anybody whether it be an eleven year old or a sixty year old. Especially, I know that there are people out there who probably have a disturbed background or went through something that are making them use the horrors of the clown craze to act in a certain way so they can try and be the best version of themselves.”
Do you think Halloween will ever be the same again?
“I hope that, to be honest, it is just something people talk about for now then it will just be slowly forgotten about. However, I am certain that these events will remain with me so I am always aware of the possibility of this occurring at any time.”
How has Halloween affected the Sutton area?
“With Sutton being the safest London Borough in terms of disorder and violent crime, I felt a little more at ease but then again there have been stabbings here at the most unexpected times and places in Sutton before so you can never know what to expect at any given moment in time. I think it has, to some degree, given a bad name to party and fancy dress stores in the area like that of my personal favourite in St Nicholas Centre. It is not fair really with business slumping in some areas of Sutton Highstreet already. As well as this, the typical children’s birthday parties with a magician dressed up as a clown really have been let down. I do not see these birthday party firms about as much as before anymore which is quite sad.”
If clowns are getting to you this Halloween season, you can keep your mind at rest as police forces are doing their best to deal with the issue. They have warned that pranksters can get prosecuted for committing public order offences in addition to getting fined and arrested with a permanent criminal record in some cases. If you are willing to celebrate the fun in all the spookiness of Halloween remember to consider the effects you could have on the vulnerable young and elderly to ensure everyone can enjoy their evenings this Halloween season.
By Thuvaaraha Nagarajan, Nonsuch High School
