‘Clown Panic’: 7 Strange & Disturbing Incidents That Fueled a Nationwide Frenzy
Ten years ago, before a global pandemic kept people indoors and made face masks part of everyday life, America had a very different kind of epidemic: creepy clowns. For those who buried the memory to protect their mental well-being, Hulu and Disney+’s Clown Panic documentary relives all the moments from the clown epidemic that swept the nation.
It all began in Greenville, South Carolina, where residents of Fleetwood Manor Apartments reported seeing mysterious clowns lurking around the neighborhood. What started as a few frightening sightings soon spiraled into a nationwide panic, with reports of sinister clowns popping up across the country, threatening schools, terrorizing neighborhoods, and even catching the attention of the White House.
Clown Panic revisits the bizarre 2016 phenomenon and the very real consequences of a nationwide hysteria that started with a few creepy sightings. Here are some of the most shocking revelations from the documentary.
Clown Panic, Now Streaming, Hulu & Disney+
The clown panic turned deadly in Pennsylvania
In the fall of 2016, the creepy clown craze took a deadly turn in Reading, Pennsylvania. Teenager Avery Valentin-Bair was terrified of clowns, while Christhian Secundo-Torres loved scaring people. According to his sister, Janesa Torres, Christhian thought pushing people to the brink of terror was hilarious.
One night, Christhian rode his bike through the neighborhood wearing a clown mask to scare local kids. But the prank took a tragic turn when an angry crowd formed, and Christhian was stabbed in the heart. Witnesses identified Avery as the attacker, and he was eventually convicted of the killing and sentenced to life in prison.
A clown threat put a high school on lockdown
Things took a terrifying turn in Flomaton, Alabama, when a Facebook page called “Flomo Klown” began targeting local high school students with disturbing messages, including “I’m in your backyard.” The page also featured a bizarre video of a fanged clown holding a decapitated Ronald McDonald.
Trae and Cole, who were students at Flomaton High School at the time, recall the panic that followed when Flomo Klown posted an even more sinister threat: “It’s going down tonight,” followed by three gun emojis and the message, “I kill people for a living.”
The threat was taken seriously enough to put the school on lockdown. Students barricaded classroom doors and even gathered books to use as makeshift weapons in case they needed to defend themselves. Authorities searched the classrooms but ultimately found nothing…at first.
The FBI tracked Flomo Klown to a 20-year-old woman
Believe it or not, the terrifying Flomo Klown Facebook page began as a harmless prank between friends. Makayla Smith, who was six months pregnant at the time, recalls creating the page with three teenagers to get back at a girl who had been sending creepy clown messages to one of their friends. But the joke quickly spiraled out of control, with threats against Flomaton High School eventually leading investigators to trace the account’s IP address back to the group.
Smith was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats, a felony, despite not being the person who actually posted the threats. According to the documentary, another member of the group was allegedly responsible, but Smith faced the legal consequences because she was the only adult involved.
The creepy clown panic made it all the way to the White House
The creepy clown craze became such a national phenomenon that even the White House was asked to weigh in. During a press briefing, a journalist asked President Barack Obama‘s press secretary Josh Earnest whether the president was aware of the frightening clown sightings sweeping the country and if he had an official position on scary clowns. Yes, scary clowns had officially become a presidential matter.
While the White House didn’t offer an official stance on clowns themselves, the response was that any threats to public safety and local communities should be taken seriously.
Apparently, clown experts are a thing
Who knew there were actual clown experts? Ben Radford, an author and researcher who literally wrote the book on creepy clowns, titled Bad Clowns, is an expert for the doc.
When reports of mysterious clown sightings began popping up in Greenville, South Carolina, Radford initially dismissed them as a classic urban legend. But as videos spread online and similar sightings were reported in cities across the country, he began charting the incidents to track just how far the creepy clown phenomenon had spread.
The clown panic forced Ronald McDonald into hiding
Not even Ronald McDonald was safe from the creepy clown craze. A McDonald’s fixture since 1963, the fast-food mascot was temporarily pulled back from public appearances in 2016 as frightening clown sightings swept the country.
In a statement, the company explained: “McDonald’s and franchises in the local markets are mindful of the current climate around clown sightings in communities and as such are being thoughtful in respect to Ronald McDonald’s participation in community events for the time being.”
(It should be noted that once the coast was clear, Ronald and the McDonaldland posse were brought back in August 2025 for a nostalgic advertising campaign.)
Ringling Bros. closed after 146 years, leaving clowns out of work
As if the creepy clown craze hadn’t caused enough trouble, professional clowns were also feeling the fallout. The documentary suggests that the nationwide panic added to an already difficult time for the clowning profession, which suffered a major blow when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, one of the country’s biggest employers of clowns, shut down in 2017 after 146 years.
While the circus’s closure wasn’t directly caused by the clown panic, the timing certainly didn’t help. Professional clowns were suddenly facing unemployment on top of the public’s growing fear and suspicion of anyone wearing a red nose and oversized shoes.
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