Northampton: They All Float Down Here

Faithful readers, can we call just take a moment, be honest with each other and admit that Tim Curry's role of Pennywise the Clown in Stephen King's "It" is the most terrifying thing to ever happen on television? Can we all just admit that that creepy clown has haunted our dreams as children and may even cause feelings of dread in us as adults?

Or is it just me?

I first saw "It" when it was on TV in 1990. Confession: I was probably not quite old enough to be watching something like that. How do I know that I may have been too young? Because I threw up after watching the first half of the miniseries. Now, that could have been because I had eaten too much hamburger gravy, or it could have been that my body was revolting after the terror and stress I had just put it through.

And to this day I still get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I see Pennywise, and sometimes when I just see Tim Curry. So you can imagine my feelings when I found out that someone in Northampton, England (which I believe is just north of Hampton, England) was dressing up as Pennywise the Clown and roaming around the streets.

Apparently the Northampton Clown, as he's called, shows up at a random location and stares at people. He doesn't talk, he doesn't juggle, he doesn't make balloon animals or any of the other terrifying things that clowns normally do -- he just stands there and waves. So people began to be, understandably, creeped out by him, and they did what normal people who are disturbed by something do these days - take a picture and post it online.

Here are a few of them:

Oh I get it!

"They all float down here!"

"Don't you want your balloon?"

Great, a clown and a weeping angel in the same vicinity. *shudder*

The pointing makes this picture especially creepy.

The Northampton Clown first started popping up around September 2013 on Friday the 13th (of course). Since that time, his pictures have appeared on the news, he's started a Facebook page and, just last week, his identity was revealed.

News outlets are now reporting that the Northampton clown is a student named Alex Powell. Alex is a filmmaker who made a mockumentary about a clown in a similar getup a few months before the sightings began. However, even though the media is sure that the Northampton Clown is none other than Alex Powell, the Northampton Clown Facebook page simply states, "Don't worry, my identity is still safe. See you all soon! BEEP BEEP!" so perhaps the Northampton Clown is still out there. . .waiting to be found in the dark night.

 Well, I guess it's back to nightmares and bed-wetting for me.

Goodnight.