If clowns aren’t your thing, avoid Brantford’s Value Village at all costs!

Hundred of clowns — from figurines to photos to dolls — have made their way to the thrift store (possibly in one tiny car) and the store’s manager, Mark Soos, is convinced they are former residents of Brantford’s now-famous Clown House.

The home made headlines last month when it was put up for sale and photos of the interior — it was filled with every kind of clown imaginable — went online.

The origin of the circus performers at Value Village couldn’t immediately be confirmed, but it seems unlikely the sudden appearance of the clowns and the sale of the house are not connected. But clowns are whimsical, and have been known to surprise.

The son of one of the home’s owners, Michael McMannis, said in an earlier interview with the Star that there were some 1,500 clowns in the collection.

Soos estimates about a quarter of the home’s entire collection must be at his store, judging by the photos he’s seen of the interior of the house before it was sold. Some of the clown donations are still waiting in the wings because of the sheer volume of them, he added.

“We actually made a clown section on the floor,” he said, adding the funny merchandise is taking up about seven retail metres. “It’s mainly dolls, but there are figurines, there’s pictures, there’s tonnes and tonnes of stuff. If you’re phobic, you’d run away screaming.”

“There’s no way if this is all of it,” said Soos, who said that “it’s funny, and absurd, and a little bit sad” the former owners had to give away their collection they’d spent decades collecting.

The clowns have been at the store since Thursday, and, as of Friday afternoon, one or two have sold, said Soos. Shoppers have noticed the odd collection and asked whether they’ve come from the clown home.

Carolyn Pongracz was out shopping on Thursday when she saw the clown section.

“There was a couple other shoppers that were casually taking selfies,” she said in an email. The clowns were stacked about four or five deep on the shelves, she said, adding, “It’s pretty obvious it all came from the famous house.”

It will set you back a cool $700 to buy the entire collection from Value Village, Soos said. Prices for the clowns range from $2 all the way up to $20.

“But,” Soos warned, “they’re all equally terrifying.”