Terrifying kids into submission is undoubtedly a questionable patenting technique. But some families are often open to it. And if you're that sort of a parent, you can now hire Wrinkles the Clown to creep out your naughty kids.
It's universally acknowledged that clowns are petrifying, and it's only inevitable that someone would find a means to capitalize fear.
Magnolia Picture's recent documentary, Wrinkles the Clown, tells us about a real story of a titular clown, where a 65-year-old man offers his services to parents seeking to terrify their kids whenever they misbehave.
The trailer of the documentary is available on YouTube.
Opposite of what most people would expect, he would be in a haunted house. Some parents have asked Wrinkles to show up at social events or even stand menacingly outside neighbors' homes.
But beyond his unsettling stoicism and willingness to discipline naughty kids for a fee, the man behind the mask remains shrouded in mystery.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Wrinkles remembers one incident when a mother hired him to scare her 12-year-old son:
"He was scared of clowns, and I showed up across the street from him at the bus stop, and he just started crying in front of his friends and ran home."
"His mother called back a few days later and said 'Thank you!'"
"Now when he acts bad, she just has to ask him: 'Do you want Wrinkles to come back?'"
Though Wrinkles didn't disclose his true identity, he revealed that he's a divorcee veteran from Rhode Island who moved to Florida after retirement to escape New England's cold winters.
Not long after arriving in Florida, he began putting on a clown suit to escape. He also wanted to "have fun and have a good time [and] make a little extra money on the side."
He added:
"It's fun."
"You get to be someone else. You get some people who are petrified and some people who want you to come home with them."
Since his story began to spread, Wrinkles has been featured in several media outlets, including an appearance on NPR's "Wait Wait … Don't Tell Me."
The internet craze of Wrinkles the Clown was first seen in a 2014 video. The terrifying clip, caught on a black-and-white CCTV camera, was posted by the 'HvUseen Wrinkles' YouTube page.
The footage looks like something out of a conjuring film. At first, many people thought it was a joke, but it wasn't. The video has nearly one million views on YouTube.
In the footage, a young girl is seen sleeping on a trundled bed. Then, a drawer beneath her seemingly opens on its own, revealing a clown in a polka-dotted suit. The clown man then stands up straight and looms around the sleeping girl. Luckily, she doesn't wake up, and she's wasn't scared.
Though it's unclear whether the clown in the viral YouTube videos is the same as the man now scaring kids, or if it is just a copycat, we must admit his face is spine-chilling.
