Real-life clowns juggle a controversial media circus in 2016

America’s jokesters are getting jilted in a national scandal straight out of a Stephen King novel.

Creepy clowns, known for their intimidating grins and viral social media videos (and apparently Pornhub content), have been spotted in at least 20 states, including North Carolina — and, reportedly, Chapel Hill.

As UNC prepares for Halloween, some students are concerned that clowning around might take a more sinister turn. But for Durham-based professional clown David Bartlett, the creepy clowns are just another laughing matter.

‘Make them laugh’

Bartlett has performed as Mr. Rainbow since 1981. Clowning has been his full-time job since 1988. He has toured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, and he has won awards for his work with balloon art, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Ballooning Community in 2008. He’s written three serialized columns for family entertainment magazines about the art of clowning and translated his expertise into three books, 19 VHS tapes and 10 DVD guides to clowning and balloon artistry.

His decade-spanning career began after his wife signed him up for a balloon sculpture class to get him out of the house.

“I promised to go to the one class and that was it. But my kids liked it, so I decided to keep going off with the balloons,” he said. “I wasn’t going to buy any books on how to do it, so I made up all the stuff myself, not knowing that that’s not the way it’s done.”

A salesman at the balloon shop took notice and referred Bartlett to his first gig at a local Belk store.

“I didn’t feel like I could do it as a real person, so I decided to create a clown character — my wife and I came up with that,” he said. “And the more I got into that, the more I realized that the clowning was way more fun than the balloons.”

Soon Bartlett was performing at five or six birthday parties a weekend across the Triangle area as well as shows at UNC and Duke hospitals. He’s slowed down recently, but not because he doesn’t love the work — just because he’s in his 60s. Because of this, the creepy clown trend hasn’t really affected his work, but he’s fielded concerns from other clowns in the area.

Given all his expertise, his input on the situation is surprisingly simple.

“First off, they’re not clowns. They’re just goofballs dressing up and trying to scare people. They’re not clowns because they’re not intending to make people laugh in any way, shape or form,” he said.

And, although the subject matter may be serious, Bartlett said a solution might be humorous.

“I’ve had a number of conversations with clowns about this, during this little tempest in a teapot, and I’ve said, ‘You can solve this — just make them laugh,’” he said. “If somebody sees you make them laugh and they’ll relax right then and there and think, ‘Oh, they’re okay.’”

Sedated sounds

The name for Pete Pawsey’s band came to him in a dream.

“Actually, I usually lie about this, but in the interest of good journalism — it came from a nightmare where there was an operating room and clowns kind of looming.”

Out of that nightmare, Radar’s Clowns of Sedation was born. The soul and blues band — which is not actually comprised of clowns, except for during special shows in which they wear makeup — has a rotating cast of members based all around the Triangle.

“Several years ago somebody did try to book us for a clown gig, an actual clowning gig, and I had to say, ‘Sorry, we don’t actually do that, per se,’” Pawsey said.

The band occasionally lives up to their name, especially around the Halloween season. They plan on dressing up for a Nov. 4 show at Mystery Brewing Public House despite the current controversy around clowns.

“For Halloween gigs we often are made up. There’s a picture from (The Cave) from six or seven years ago that I think I have kind of the Heath Ledger-kind of makeup on and my drummer is David Bowie,” Pawsey said. “People have to be aware that it’s going to happen otherwise people tend to freak out at gigs.”

Though clowns are a part of the band’s identity, their impact isn’t as big as it would seem.

“In some respects, there are people who do express interest based on that. In some respects, it’s completely irrelevant. It doesn’t really say much about what we do,” Pawsey said.

“I guess it’s a kind of a way trying to present that carnival type of atmosphere and kind of subliminally suggest it so that people know they’re not just coming to see a band play.”

Clowns on campus?

Unlike school districts in New Jersey and Connecticut, the Chapel Hill Police Department does not have an official stance on clown costumes.

“We have no authority to regulate what costume someone wears,” said Lt. Josh Mecimore, spokesperson for the Chapel Hill Police Department. “There might be some authority to regulate lewd costumes or something that falls under some other state law, but there’s no way for a law enforcement agency or anyone to regulate whether people wear clown costumes or not.”

While a clown was arrested in Hillsborough in October for theft and fraud of an ATM card, there haven’t been any similar incidents Chapel Hill.

However, that hasn’t stopped some students from worrying.

“There was a sense of fear. People in my district were afraid with everything that ever happened with clowns across the country, and people were scared,” said first-year Tarik Woods, who represents District Four in Student Congress.

Woods uploaded a public service announcement on YouTube entitled “We ‘aint afraid of no clowns at UNC,” on Oct. 6.

“My motive behind it was, ‘How can I take these guys’ minds off of clowns and reassure them that nothing could go wrong and that everyone would be safe?’” Woods said. “So I made a video that seemed to work — it did just that, it took people’s minds off of it and made them laugh, made them feel more comfortable.”

But Woods doesn’t think the University needs to follow suit.

“I think the University is doing pretty well keeping people safe,” he said. “I do not foresee clowns posing any threat to the way we act in our daily lives. I don’t think the University really needs to do anything, because I don’t see the need to put a larger focus on something this stupid.”

First-year Miriam Chisholm agrees. 

“I think there’s nothing really to worry about, I’m not concerned at all,” she said. “I feel like there have just been a lot of isolated incidents that have become a big thing — but I don’t think it’s become a threat to any students on campus.”

And Bartlett agrees. Real clowns aren’t meant to create worry — they’re meant to create joy.

“When you go out dressed as a clown, you should know that just the way you look creates the expectation that you’re going to be fun,” he said. “And if you aren’t, then you become suspect.”

@notracheljones

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