The Killer Clown
Posted on 8th January 2024 at 14:59
A semi regular blog on some of the unusual items in my collection
Welcome to another of what I hope will be a regular feature on the website where I talk about some of the weird things that I have picked up over the years. Some of the stories I tell will be true and some, I admit, a pure flight of fancy. But, whenever people get to see these artefacts in the flesh, strange things do seem to happen….
Killer Clowns!
In the mid 1950’s a series of murders took place in the Midlands. Each victim was a young girl in her 20’s and in each case, immediately before or after the murder a creepy white faced clown was seen in the vicinity. They therefore became known as the “whiteface murders”
Due to the clown connection, police concentrated their enquiries on travelling circuses and eventually turned up at the Gandolf Brothers Circus where a search of the caravans provided what was thought of as irrefutable proof that the killer clown had come from there. One of the clowns, an Alfie Wilson, was subsequently arrested, charged and tried, despite his protestations of his innocence. He was found guilty and hung at Strangeways prison.
Two months after his death a young girl in her 20’s was discovered brutally murdered and dumped on some waste ground. On examination, white greasepaint was discovered on her clothes - clearly the police had got the wrong man!
The police went back to the Gandolf Brothers Circus and after another, more thorough search, discovered an old tobacco tin, taped to the underside of a caravan (see photo above). Inside the tin were publicity photos of the clowns who worked at the circus, an old circus poster, a key and fob, a stick of white grease paint and a white glove - covered in blood!
On the back of the poster was a confession from the real whiteface killer, along with a taunt for someone to try on his glove and see if they could identify the real murderer…
I love this story and in performance I normally get someone to put on the glove to make a psychic connection to the killer and try to identify the real whiteface. Are they successful? Do they achieve some sort of “psychic link”? Well, you will just have to come along to a performance and see for yourself - you never know, you might be the one chosen to try the glove on for size!
The Killer Clown can be seen in all three of my Bizarrist shows The Dark Parlour, The Secret Room and the Cabinet of Curiosities
Next week - The Dark Museum
Tagged as: weird stuff
Share this post: