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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2016)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016 Crying inside? Creepy craze no joke for real clowns ‘It’s definitely a scary feeling leaving your house, and you fear you are going to get jumped because you’re dressed as a clown.’ By MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press NEW YORK — Send in the frowns. This year’s nationwide creepy clown craze has become a nightmare before Hallow- een for actual, working clowns, who say their bookings at par- ties and other events have dropped sharply, even after many of the social media-fu- eled scary clown sightings have turned out to be hoaxes. Some fear going out with their greasepaint makeup and red noses will make them a tar- get of police or even marauding mobs who take to the streets on so-called clown hunts. “It’s deinitely a scary feel- ing leaving your house, and you fear you are going to get jumped because you’re dressed as a clown,” says Cyrus Zavieh, a New York City hospi- tal administrator who also per- forms professionally as Cido the Clown. “You’re there to make them happy, to make them have fun, and now they are saying, ‘Aaaagghh!”’ Zavieh says. “All of a sudden these stories are putting fear into kids. ... Before, they’d just look the other way, but now it’s like, ‘You’re a scary clown and I hate you.”’ Cyrus Zavieh a New York City hospital administrator who also performs professionally as Cido the Clown S UPPORT S TEVEN 100 39 TH S TREET #2 A STORIA , O REGON 503.325.6900 TheCoffeeGirl.com All proceeds from Coffee Girl will support Steven Wentworth’s fight against cancer! Y! ALL DA R E B O OCT & 23 22 Direct donations can be made through US Bank or online: US Bank/Steven Wentworth www.gofundme.com/2k6hs77K Art Sale Sponsored By: Astoria High School BEATS 6-8 PM OCTOBER 23 RD FOR LIFE! AT F of a eath s d sha Ned e BE E! d Victoria Holcom’s Senior Project er Music Night Fundraiser to support Steve Wentworth LIF Not new trend Clown sightings, hoaxes and pranks — especially around Halloween — aren’t new. In fact, they’ve become a D RINK C OFFEE ... ATS The World Clown Associa- tion — comprised of more than 2,000 members in 30 countries — has been looded with calls from scared performers. It’s been sending out safety tips, suggesting clowns consider changing into their costumes when they arrive at a party or go with a handler. Association president Randy Christensen says clowns are also increasingly getting requests for “modiied perfor- mances” in which they enter- tain without makeup and tradi- tional clown attire. This week, retail giant Tar- get took the step of pulling scary clown masks from its shelves. And McDonald’s says its signature clown charac- ter, Ronald McDonald, will be recurring staple of crime blot- ters since serial killer and work- ing clown John Wayne Gacy was convicted in 1980 of kill- ing 33 people. In 2012, James Holmes dyed his hair red as Batman’s Joker when he opened ire at a Colorado movie theater, killing 12 people. Those high-proile cases notwithstanding, experts say it’s relatively common for people to feel creeped out by clowns. “It primarily has to do with the exaggerated makeup and features. We recognize it, but there is something abnormal,” says Dr. Kristie Golden, asso- ciate director of operations for psychiatry and neurosciences at Stony Brook University Hospi- tal. “We can be drawn in by that or we can be repelled.” World Clown Association’s Christensen says this year’s clown scares seem to be reach- ing new heights, and he sug- gests working clowns repel them the same way they always have, by spreading a message of happiness and boundless. Bi Ale r Scared performers AP Photos/Mary Altaffer Cyrus Zaveih, also known as Cido the Clown, poses for a photo. A spate of scares involving people doing menacing things while dressed in clown costumes has been no laughing matter for real clowns. FOR keeping a lower proile. The fallout follows a phe- nomenon in the U.S. involving dozens of stories, many fabri- cated, about clowns stalking or attacking people. In multiple states, people have called police to report being menaced by people in clown costumes. In Kentucky, a man dressed as a clown was arrested after lurking in the woods. Children in Ohio and Texas have been charged with making clown-related threats to school classmates. A New York City teen told police a clown threatened him with a knife in the subway. “They aren’t clowns. They are clown impersonators,” said Wendy Pincus, who has performed in New York City for the last 20 years. “We’re here to make people happy. We don’t threaten people. We bring joy.” Pincus, whose clown alter ego is “Crazy Daisy,” says she’s seen a 30 to 40 percent decrease in just the past few weeks. C OFFEE G IRL Cancer Awareness Helpful Tips on: • Supporting cancer victims • Supporting families • Decreasing your chances of having cancer N. Wahanna Road Worried about taking the long way back? 101 Changes in your urinary tract system as you age can begin to affect your active lifestyle. 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