Originally published on this site in September 2011, this legend is the 2nd most popular story submitted to the site. The list of names that appear below is only a partial list of similar submissions. We also have many visitors who found ULO by searching for this old favorite.
This girl was babysitting for some family friends one night, a little boy and a little girl. The parents had a fetish for clowns and had collected clowns from around the world for years, setting aside a room in the house just to put them on display. That night, the children were playing in this very room. Many of the clowns were just statues, and some were life-size, one in particular, was seated in a small child-like rocking chair.
The babysitter started to feel more and more uneasy about this statue throughout the night. She felt as though the eyes were following her, whenever she moved around the room with the children. She decided to call the parents. "I’m so sorry to bother you", she said, "but I was wondering if I could move this clown that you have in the rocking chair, it’s starting to scare the kids and I."
"What clown are you referring to? I don’t recall us having a clown fitting that description. Are you sure its sitting in the rocking chair?" the mother asked hurriedly.
"Yes, I’m sure.” said the girl. "It’s sitting right here, I’m looking at it right now…Why? I know it’s probably very old and I shouldn’t attempt to move it out of the way, but."
"Take the kids and get out of the house, now. The neighbor across the street will let you in. Call me immediately when you get there." and with that, the mother hung up.
Frightened and confused, the babysitter grabbed the kids and ran out. When she and the kids arrived safely at the neighbors, she called and the mother answered. "What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you all okay?" the girl asked.
"Yes, we are fine, but it’s not us we are worried about, it’s you and the kids. I’m so glad you called–we were afraid this would happen again. We will be there shortly along with the police, I’ll explain everything when we get there", and the mother hung up.
The parents later explained to the girl that for some time, the next-door neighbor had been giving them problems. He was mentally ill, heard voices, the whole bit. On numerous occasions he had snuck into their house and tried to kidnap the children. This time, he dressed up in a clown suit, painted his face, and waited quietly until he had the opportunity to do what he came to do.
The parents had informed the police many times but never had any proof until now about what was happening. They thanked the girl, paid her, and drove her home.
Cambry Belle from OK
Alexi Pierrottet from Corona CA
Janelle Revere from MA
Alex Warwick from NJ
Emily W. from Loveland, OH
Sarah from NH
Rose Emran from NC
Nick M
Chloe from North Bergen, NJ
Variations:
- The clown is sometimes in the living room.
- The clown statue turns out to be a “little person” that was living in the garage for 4 months and would go in and get food whenever the parents left the house. This time, he saw the parents leave, and went in to get food like he always did, not expecting there to be a babysitter in the living room.
- Sometimes the babysitter calls the parents asking them if she can put a blanket over the clown statue.