John Latimer

johnlatimer@ldnews.com

Despite rumors to the contrary, there are no clowns lurking around Lebanon schools.

Lebanon School District Safety Director Bob Bowman dispelled the rumors on Thursday in response to questions about messages left this week on the Lebanon Daily News Facebook Page, claiming that clowns have been seen at schools in the city.

Creepy clowns trying to lure children into the woods were first reported in South Carolina several weeks ago and have spread to other states, including Pennsylvania, where police in Schuylkill and other counties have investigated. No arrests have been made.

Bowman said the school district has been aware of the creepy clown phenomena for the past several weeks but received its first report on Monday of a clown at a park a block away from Lebanon Middle School, 350 N. Eighth St. Staff in the district are always on the lookout and have been reminded to report any suspicious activity, he added.

“We have not had any reports of clowns around our schools,” Bowman said. “Now that being said, one of our schools received an anonymous phone call that there was a clown hanging around Monument Park and that we should be aware of it.”

No clown was found when school officials checked the park, Bowman said.

Bowman noted that clowns have been an issue before, mentioning the hip hop duo, Insane Clown Posse, and author Stephen King's best-seller "It," which features a clown that terrorizes children.

"Wearing a clown costume on the street is not illegal," observed the retired Lebanon police lieutenant. "It's what you do while wearing a clown costume."

The school safety director suggested it may be more than a coincidence that the creepy clown phenomena is happening in advance of the October release of heavy metal rocker and director Rob Zombie's latest movie "31" about psychopathic clowns.

The company distributing Zombie's film has denied any connection to the clown sighting reports.

Bowman said he had heard that city police received reports over the weekend about kids dressed in clown masks causing trouble in the area of Gannon and Lehman streets.

Lebanon police Chief Todd Breiner said he was not aware of that incident, but is certain that the department has not received reports of anyone dressed in clown makeup attempting to lure children or harassing others, as has been reported elsewhere.