The beloved holiday tradition of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade turned creepy in 2017 when a number of clowns and clown floats terrified fearful viewers tuning in for a bit of Thanksgiving Day fun. The clowns, who appeared both on the ground and on a massive float, were a bit too much for some viewers, especially since the IT reboot had just premiered over the summer. Others simply said the float triggered their deep-seated fear of the circus performers.
Fear of clowns is not uncommon, as the Chapman University Survey on American Fears notes that clowns are one of the top five most common fears among American adults. Keep scrolling to see some of the hilarious and fearful reactions from viewers on Twitter (now called X) as the clowns appeared on their TVs back in 2017.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Clown Chaos
Some viewers were shocked when clowns of different kinds took to the streets for the annual parade.
Did anyone else notice the Viking Clowns?#Vikings #clowns #whaaaaaaaat #MacysParade #MacysThanksgivingParade pic.twitter.com/75z3zM9kOF
— ingrid (@snowqueeningrid) November 23, 2017
“You’ll Float Too”
Others conjured up images of evil clowns from Stephen King’s IT.
Ronald McDonald was just on the TV in the #MacysParade and I yelled YOU’LL FLOAT TOO because he’s a clown and that’s what we say to clowns except he was actually ON A FLOAT so OMG @StephenKing has been right all this time.
— Jennifer Sommersby (@JennSommersby) November 23, 2017
Phobias and Fears
The clown float and performers certainly didn’t help anyone with a pre-existing fear.
Why People Are Afraid of Clowns, Exhibit 8,327. #MacysParade pic.twitter.com/EASAUOjItO
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) November 23, 2017
Turning Off the TV
Other viewers couldn’t even tune in due to their phobia.
#MacysParade
— 100% Not Mary (@TenienteTaz) November 23, 2017
I cant even watch this because there are clowns everywhere and im scared of clowns time to hide in my room
More Like a Haunted House
People pointed out that the number of clowns made the parade feel more like a Halloween tradition than a Thanksgiving one!
There are more clowns in this parade then an @HorrorNightsORL scarezone!! #MacysThanksgivingParade #MacysParade #MacysThanksgivingDayParade pic.twitter.com/DsMRGIYQ14
— James Keaton (@Mrfurious32821) November 23, 2017
Why Clowns?
Altogether, viewers thought it was an odd choice for the festive occasion.
Clowns. Why did it have to be CLOWNS?! #MacysParade
— Hannah Cornett (@slavetodarkwave) November 23, 2017
Too Close for Comfort!
Even journalists covering the parade were a bit thrown off by the clowns!
I’ve loved covering #MacysParade today, but ummmm… nobody told me how close the clowns would get pic.twitter.com/QObHaTUDX9
— Karin Caifa (@karincaifaCNN) November 23, 2017
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