Halloween clown masks remain on shelves during creepy clown craze

JACKSON, Tenn. — The creepy clown scare has caused one big box store to pull items from their shelves and online sales, but the question remains — Are local costume stores doing the same?

Halloween is less than two weeks away, and stores are keeping busy.

“We open up the end of August, and it’s just been nonstop,” Spirit Halloween store owner Debbie Gardner said. “At first they come in just to look around, and then they know they can’t wait too long because we won’t have it, so they come in and get it pretty much right away.”

Target announced Monday they would be removing all clown masks from inside the store and online because of the scary clown sightings across the country. Some folks in West Tennessee feel it’s not that big of a deal.

“Everybody does it for fun, and I think a lot of people have taken it to the extreme with the clowns,” shopper Christa McKnight said.

The Spirit Halloween store in Jackson has the masks in stock.

“We’re selling them. I mean, they’re not flying out of here, but we are selling them,” Gardner said.

She said she doesn’t agree with removing the masks from the store. “It’s Halloween, and this is the day you can be anything you want.”

Although some people may feel the clown costumes are just for fun, there’s still a feeling of concern. “I mean, as a parent you have to take precautions,” McKnight said.

Surprisingly, a lot of kids have been liking the scary costumes. “Even little baby babies, they come in, you think they’d be scared, but [it] doesn’t even phase them.”

Locally, we’ve had some reports of clown sightings but nothing has been confirmed and no charges have been filed.