The month of October has come, so you know what that means. The wind picks up, the temperatures drop down and the clowns come out to play. Yay! What fun that sounds, (note the sarcasm). This is one of the worst times of the year for me.

Do not get me wrong, I like the weather change and I like the seasonal decorations. While I do not celebrate Halloween, that does not mean that I do not like the candy. That’s the best part; FREE CANDY!!

What I dislike about this time of year, is that the crazies come out, and terror sweeps the nation night by night.

The first clown sighting was Aug. 29, 2016 in Greenville, South Carolina. A little boy ran to his mother and told her what he had seen.“…two clowns in the woods, both brightly dressed and made up. One with a red fright wig and the other with a black star painted on his face,” said The Guardian. The clowns were trying to lure children into the woods with money.

This first appearance sparked many more across the country. The next encounter happened on Sept. 14, when a 12-year-old and his younger brother were chased by men in clown costumes when walking to the bus stop. But 10 days before a call was placed to the police in Winston-Salem, North Carolina about a clown looking for children to lure into the woods.

The clowns even took over Facebook. Sept. 15. In Southern Alabama high schools Escambia County and Flomaton were shut down due to clowns posting gun emoji’s on Facebook. “Flomo Klowns” were spotted on both campus’.

The first arrest was of 22-year-old Makayla Smith and two underage accomplices; they were connected to the threats to the students of both high schools in Alabama.

After these two reporting, reports took off. Sightings were found in six other states, including Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Another arrest was made on Sept. 30. Two 17-year-olds were wearing clown masks while robbing fast food restaurants in Phoenix, Arizona.

Schools in New Haven, Connecticut also dealt with a threatening clown messages that were on social media Oct. 3. Messages like ‘Watch Out’ and ‘Wait and See’ were left for the public to see.

On Oct. 11 in North Carolina a clown was arrested at a convenience when the police found him in dark clothes and face paint. In his backpack marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a hatchet was found. Not only high schools have been threatened with clowns, but universities across the world have been affected as well. Schools including Indiana University Belmont University, Penn State, Fairfield University, and quite a few others.

This is why when October hits, it is one of the most fearful times. One has to be alert and aware of their surroundings when going out at night.

Clowns need to go back to wherever they came from. I consider myself pretty scary, so that means I am easily scared. I can be walking and a butterfly could pop up out of nowhere and scare me. Funny, right?

So now that these clown sightings have popped up, I cannot help but cringe at the thought of some being here on campus, my campus. Though I know there “were” clowns on our campus; no one really knows for sure.

If we do not know for sure then I am left to think it was just a rumor. Although it is a rumor for now, what about a few days from now. With Decatur supposedly being ‘haunted’ plus the clowns; now I have two things to worry about. I can only imagine what the night of Halloween will look like. Picture the night filled with nothing but terror, and tons of crazy clown pictures over social media.

I do not want not one clown on this campus, killer or not. I will not be leaving my dorm on Halloween under any circumstances. I do not want any run ins with any clowns.