Zippos Circus drops clowns from its UK performances over fears ‘killer clowns’ craze will hit ticket sales
ZIPPOS circus has dropped clowns from its UK shows after the long-term comedic fixture has been victim of a "recent hijacking" as the "killer clown" craze sweeps the country.
The President of Clowns International, and head of Zippos Circus, Martin 'Zippo' Burton, released a statement addressing the decision.
Martin, who used to be a clown himself, said the UK's leading circus has become nervous that the terror surrounding clowns currently could affect ticket sales for the "family friendly" shows.
He blamed the change in feeling towards clowns on Stephen King, whose book 'It' depicts a frightening clown, and said it is "simply not funny".
Explaining the exclusion of clowns in the shows, he said: "The recent hijacking of clowns from comedy into horror, started by Stephen King and now adopted at Halloween horror mazes and in film around the world is simply not funny.
"I would like to make it clear to our visitors that Zippos Circus shows feature no clowns, in fact the 'red nose' has been redundant with us for a while - we prefer comic slapstick characters of the Charlie Chaplin style, but nonetheless we are concerned that families might be put off attending our circus, and robustly condemn these clown stalkers."
The clown craze, which has spread from the US and is now rife in the UK, has left people terrified as clowns appear outside schools, their homes and in random streets.
Social media has fanned the flames of the hysteria as accounts are used to taunt people, with promises to visit schools.
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The Sun revealed today that the teenage son of an England football star has been suspended from his private school for making “killer clown” threats to other kids.
The lad was ringleader in a sick social media stunt that caused eight schools to be evacuated. Police were called in.
The craze has become so frustrating for some, that they have formed Clown Hunter groups on Facebook to try and patrol the streets.
Police have warned that taking part in the "killer clown" craze could land you in trouble, and even arrested.
Today, a group of pranksters appeared on Good Morning Britain to defend dressing up as clowns and scaring people, but distanced themselves from the people taking part in the current trend.
And a 10-year-old boy told the story of how he was chased by a person dressed as a clown and badly bruised after a rock was thrown at him.
In Leicestershire, one woman was scared so badly she went into early labour as the craze continues to baffle much of the UK.
Over the past weekend Thames Valley Police were called to 14 reports of people being intimidated or frightened by others dressed as clowns, while Gloucestershire Police had six reports and South Wales Police attended numerous reports as police are reporting more and more sightings.
Drivers in Manchester were startled to see two clowns running at their cars on Sunday, and a mum-of-two was left with terrified children after one jumped on her car.
Yesterday morning, an Instagram account promised 20 clowns with knives would descend on Essex schools this week.
A masked man carrying a knife left a group of children aged 11 and 12 “upset and distressed” when he jumped out on their way to the Hermitage Academy in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, at 8.40am on Friday.
While in Suffolk, a boy “younger than a teenager” was chased by “several people dressed as clowns” in Beatty Road, Sudbury, at 8pm on Thursday, Suffolk Constabulary confirmed.
In Crawley, West Sussex, a clown with a hatchet was seen by a motorist in a park while another was seen on a street corner.
Last week a clown on a scooter shocked passers-by as it nipped past in Sheffield.
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