News You Can Use: Creepy Clown
Creepy
In late September, Derek Johnson, owner of JVI Secret Gardens in Donelson, Tennessee, was alerted by an employee that someone was walking around the garden center wearing a clown mask, WTVF-TV reported. But Johnson was not about to physically confront the creepy clown, whom he could see on surveillance video. Johnson clicked on his security system’s speaker, but before he could say anything, the clown backed off: “I’m leaving.” He left behind a propane tank and a saw blade that he had picked up to steal. “This is a sweet little garden center,” Johnson said incredulously. Police are investigating.
Saw That Coming
On Oct. 6, 36-year-old Clejuan Williams of Toledo, Ohio, was teaching his 9-year-old son how to back up the car (first mistake) with another child in the backseat (second mistake). Williams was standing outside the car with the driver’s door open, WTVG reported, and told the boy to hit the brake. When the child pressed the wrong pedal, Williams, who was intoxicated (third mistake), was struck and dragged under the car. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to face charges of wrongful entrustment of a motor vehicle and endangering children.
We Regret To Inform You ...
Tizi Hodson, 70, of Lincolnshire, England, sent off an application in January 1976, hoping to become a motorcycle stunt rider, the BBC reported on Oct. 5. Recently, the letter was returned to her with a note: “Late delivery by Staines Post Office. Found behind a draw(er). Only about 50 years late.” “How they found me when I’ve moved house 50-odd times, and even moved countries four or five times, is a mystery,” Hodson said. “I was so disappointed because I really, really wanted to be a stunt rider on a motorcycle.” Instead, her life’s work has included being a snake handler, horse whisperer, aerobatic pilot and flying instructor. “It means so much to me to get it back all this time later,” she said.
The Neighbours
Caroline Ashley, 41, of Liverpool, England, went all out on her Halloween decorations this year, installing fake tombstones and human skulls, but the pieces de resistance were the two “body bags” hanging upside down from a tree in front of her home. But, as Metro News reported, the fun didn’t last long: On Sept. 24, a Liverpool City Council worker stopped by to tell Ashley she would have to remove the body bags because a neighbour had complained. “It was the quickest the council has come out for anything,” Ashley said. “I put them up, and then he was round the following day.” But, she conceded, a neighbor may have been “triggered” by the display. “I don’t want to offend anyone. That wasn’t the intention,” she said. Ashley said she’ll keep the body bags in her garage going forward -- which might be creepier.
Awesome!
Reddit user Springchikun was doing some lawn cleanup in September when she noticed that a small hatch leading to a crawlspace under her home was unlatched. The New York Post reported that the Oregon woman investigated, finding a makeshift bed and several bags of belongings. She noted that the crawlspace was free of cobwebs, suggesting that someone had been there recently. “I’m sure someone is using the space,” she said. But Springchikun didn’t want to call the authorities about the squatter. “We have an option to be kind,” she said. Instead, she wrote the person a note, offering support such as food, a phone or help with resources. As a result, she met her unexpected guest, whose name is Gaby, and connected her with a friend who could help her with shelter and a mental health evaluation. “I’m not without empathy,” she said. “I just can’t have humans living under my home.”