This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Calling cow manure a cow pie doesn't make it a real pie, and calling someone dressed in oversize red shoes and white face paint a clown doesn't make him a real clown, says one Salt Lake City entertainer.
"It takes more than face paint to make a clown," said Ernie Flynn, who goes by the stage name Bobber the Clown.
Since the recent "creepy clown" trend began, Flynn — who performs at parties, in parades and every Monday at the Chinese Gourmet restaurant in Murray — has had to defend his profession and convince family members that he'll be safe performing.
A little boy who was concerned about scary clowns called him the other day, Flynn said, and he explained to the lad that while Halloween brings out creepy clowns each year, every "real clown" he knows has the "sole purpose" of making people laugh and making them happy.
"If they're not making you laugh and feel good," Flynn told the youngster, "they're not a clown."
Flynn has been in the business for more than a decade, he said, and is cautious around anyone who may be uncomfortable with clowns.
"There is a legitimate phobia that people have, mostly adults, because they've been subjected to some of this scary clown business at Halloween or the [Stephen King] book 'It,' " he said, "and the more that we get this negative publicity on the internet, the more people are afraid."
That fear has caused some people in Utah to feel threatened by anyone dressed as a clown.
Orem Police Department wrote on its Facebook page Monday: "We have answered over 40 questions on [Facebook] and a few dozen calls at our dispatch center about clowns today. It's not the number of calls or messages that is concerning but the content of the messages."
Community members are asking police whether they can "shoot or take action against someone that is dressed up like a clown," the post says.
Flynn's wife called him Monday and suggested that maybe he shouldn't go to his regular gig at the restaurant because she was afraid he might be targeted.
"They're stereotyping," Flynn said of the people who want to target people dressed as clowns. "It's not much different than racial stereotyping."
By itself, coulrophobia — a fear of clowns — doesn't justify attacking someone, the police department said, referring to the Utah law explaining when it is permissible to use force against another person.
"If someone is standing on the sidewalk, dressed like a clown and they don't have any weapons ... when we respond and that person decides to look at us and walk the other way without saying a word, we can't do anything," Orem police wrote in the post. "If you call, we will answer the phone, and we will send an officer out. That's what we do. Just understand that sometimes we can't do anything about it if no laws are being broken."
However, Orem police also warned that anyone who plans to use "[social media]-fueled scare tactic as an excuse to dress up like clowns and frighten people ... and chase kids around to scare them" may face criminal charges.
The hysteria is "very discouraging" for Flynn, not just from a business standpoint, but also for anyone who has interest in the career meant to "make people's days a little brighter."
Threats from creepy clowns this week — none of which has been proved to be legitimate — have put Utah school administrators on edge and sucked up law enforcement resources.
"Remember that everything you read online is not always true," Orem police wrote. "Some of these clown stories circulating around have been made up."
Orem police's Facebook post had generated more than 800 reactions and more than 600 shares, and Roy police's post had more than 680 reactions and more than 500 shares by Wednesday.
Facebook posts from police departments in Roy, Pleasant Grove and St. George show widespread concern about creepy-clown sightings, some of which have been determined to be juvenile pranks.
Pleasant Grove police emphasized that as Halloween approaches, a number of people will be dressing up in costumes, but "there is nothing illegal about wearing a costume, clown or otherwise. ... It is not legal to use force against someone for the sole reason they were wearing a costume."
Schools in multiple districts — including Granite, Salt Lake City, Weber and Ogden — have reportedly been working with law enforcement against threats.
Taylorsville High School and Plymouth Elementary School were "briefly" placed on a soft lockdown Wednesday morning, Granite School District tweeted, as police looked into what Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke described as "very vague" and ultimately unfounded reports of two knife-wielding clowns on the loose at a nearby apartment complex.
Officers found "no evidence, no threat, no clown," the district tweeted, and the school's precautionary restrictions were lifted.
A student responsible for a threatening, but ultimately unfounded, Instagram post was identified, the district tweeted Wednesday, and assured that "appropriate action will be taken."
Two schools in Ogden School District — Gramercy Elementary School and Ogden Preparatory Academy — also locked their doors to outsiders for a time Monday, due to a social media post threatening students and referencing a clown, but police did not find anything that proved the threat to be legitimate.
The Salt Lake City School District sent an email to parents Wednesday, telling students to not accept friend requests or social-media followers from people they don't know, because many of the threats have come from anonymous accounts.
"Hoaxes or not, we want you to know we are tracking this issue and are taking it very seriously," the district wrote.
While the frenzy seems to be peaking in Utah this week, Time magazine reports that the creepy-clown craze has been growing nationwide since late August, when people dressed as clowns reportedly tried to lure children into the woods near a South Carolina apartment complex.
There have been reports of threatening clown sightings in 33 states, according to news website Heavy, and at least 12 people have been arrested in connection with clown-related crimes, according to The New York Times.
Twitter: @mnoblenews