This year has seen the highest volume of public clown sightings since Halloween 2008, when seemingly everyone was dressed as the Joker from The Dark Knight. The makeup-wearing nightmare factories have been spotted in Wisconsin, South Carolina, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, and Arizona, where “Clown Lives Matter.” What’s to be done about this plague of clowns?

Bring in Batman, obviously.

A man dressed like the Caped Crusader is patrolling the streets of Whitehaven, according to BBC Cumbria, after hearing “that many children had been left traumatized by the clowns lurking around the town.”

It appears a superhero has swooped in, determined to help youngsters sleep easy tonight. Cumbria Superheroes, a costume company, has sent ‘Batman’ out and about on the town’s streets to fight off the evil clowns. The man behind it insists he is not a vigilante, but is hoping to give children some reassurance that they are safe. (Via)

London police are taking the clown sightings seriously, with Commander Julian Bennett saying, “We are currently assessing a small number of reported ‘Killer Clown’ incidents in London, three of which meet the threshold of a criminal offense. Our primary responsibility is identifying and investigating those incidents where a criminal offense has occurred. However, anti-social behavior can leave people feeling scared, anxious, and intimidated and I would urge those who are causing fear and alarm to carefully consider the impact their actions have on others.” Halloween is going to be a disaster.

Let’s go back to simpler times, when people dressed like Bane.

(Also, people are happy that an adult male dressed like a bat is hunting clowns, and he’s doing it for kids. That’s how much people hate clowns.)

(Via BBC Cumbria)