For the most part, these reports have been relatively harmless cases of a person trying to get a rise out of someone in the days leading up to Halloween.
And now, the national trend of “creepy” clowns causing disturbances has apparently made its way to Aroostook County as the Houlton Police Department has received a number of complaints over the past week.
Capt. Dan Pelletier, acting chief for the Houlton Police Department, said Thursday that his department has responded to six reports over the past seven days of people claiming to see an individual or individuals wearing a clown mask lurking outside either their home or the home of a neighbor.
“The bulk of the reports we have received have been unsubstantiated,” Pelletier said. “Do we feel there is a real threat? No, there has been nothing to substantiate that [threat].”
He stated there was one confirmed report of a clown scaring a child. When police responded, they determined that the individual wearing the clown mask was an older brother trying to scare his younger sibling.
“Is that a violation? No,” Pelletier said. “But our officers will respond to any and all calls and we are going to do everything we can to ensure a person’s safety. Any time that a child feels threatened in any manner, they should notify their teacher, parent or responsible adult or the police.”
Sgt. Chuck Wampler has spent some time investigating other calls about scary clowns, but has not been able to determine with any certainty whether the reports are real or hoaxes. Reports have not been isolated to any one particular area in town either.
Pelletier said that in order for there to be any type of police action, a person needs to be doing considerably more than just wearing a clown mask and waving at people. If the clown jumped out from behind a building or bushes, however, the individual could be charged with disorderly conduct or harassment and end up being fined.
“A person wearing a clown mask can walk down the street,” he said. “That is not illegal. What they can’t do is use that mask to perpetrate a crime, whether it be trespassing, burglary or terrorizing. If someone is going to dress up like a clown and try to scare someone, we ask them to think it through. If you are caught, there will be consequences.”
Pelletier also cautioned people about taking the law into their own hands and going after someone vigilante-style if they see a creepy clown.
“The last thing people should do is take it upon themselves to enforce the law,” he said.
Pelletier reminded people that they should report any suspicious activity to police as quickly as possible.
“We take all reports seriously,” Pelletier said. “We have always been able to say our response time is less than five minutes. It’s very unusual when we can’t say that.”
Lt. Brian Harris of the Maine State Police said Oct. 4 that his department had only received a couple of complaints. In one case, a man in Monticello called state police to say he saw a person wearing a clown mask standing outside his home next to a car waving at him. State police responded and found no evidence that an individual had been in the man’s driveway.
Sheriff Darrell Crandall of the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office said his agency has not received any reports of subjects wearing clown masks.
Lily Legassie of Houlton said she called local police the evening of Oct. 4 to report seeing a person in a clown mask outside her living room window staring back inside at her. Legassie added she was skeptical of all the reports from people on Facebook, but is now convinced something is going on.
“They [police] can say what they want, I saw a clown,” she said. “I thought it was just a bunch of kids, but this clown was a man. I couldn’t tell if it was makeup or mask, but it was definitely a clown face with flashlight in my living room window. Carrying a knife.”
To date, no individuals have been charged with disorderly conduct or harassment in connection with any clown-related reports.
A bad rap?
For the past few years, Beverly Gilpatrick Kirk has experienced the joy of bringing a smile to children’s faces as “Hattie,” a member of the County Clownz, at numerous functions throughout Aroostook County.
The County Clownz are a civic-minded, non-profit group based out of Oakfield that enjoys bringing smiles to nursing homes, hospitals, churches, schools as well as private events. They perform at numerous civic events throughout the year, including the Education Fair at the John Millar Civic Center in Houlton and Presque Isle Wesleyan Church’s annual “Trunk or Treat” event, as well as numerous parades. Their mission is to “use the art of clowning to uplift and encourage people of all ages,” according to their Facebook page.
“I have always wanted to be a clown,” Kirk said. “I thought I had to go to Florida to Ringling Brothers to go to school, which is why I never did it. I just always wanted to make people smile. That’s our whole thing. It’s a job, but it’s a fun job.”
So when Kirk started seeing reports on national news stations about “creepy clowns,” she was devastated.
“The people doing these things, they are not clowns,” Kirk said. “These people want to scare people. They are making my job harder, but worse, someone is going to get hurt.”
Kirk said because of these reports, she is now afraid to go to any event dressed as her alter-ego by herself for fear of what someone might do to her.
“I definitely won’t go anywhere alone,” she said. “It’s too bad because I take pride in what I do. The minute I turn into ‘Hattie,’ that is who I become. I act silly. I do whatever I can to get a smile out of people.”
