IT’S just not fair
Irish clown fears horror flick will make kids scared of him and says: We’re not maniacs
John Mcgee said he hopes the latest film adaptation of the chilling Stephen King novel won’t have children – or their parents – running for cover.
The movie features Pennywise the Dancing Clown who terrorises the US town of Derry in Maine luring children to their death from his lair in the sewers using red balloons.
But John, who has been running Mcgee’s Clown Show in the Midlands for 21 years, insists that clowns are the good guys.
He added: “The unfortunate thing about IT and other similar movies is that they portray characters that children love as homicidal maniacs.
“Anyone who has seen a good clown show, especially our own, knows the clown is a good guy – a little eccentric in the way he dresses and behaves, and maybe a little deluded – but only because he wants to have some fun.
“He’s like a child trapped in the body of an adult, who’ll sit and eat birthday cake with the children, and they can John Mcgee relate to that – a grown-up who can communicate with them on their level.”
John, who performs with his nineyear-old son Jordan, said: “There’s no need for any of those scary wigs or makeup at a party, especially if the children are very young.
“I’ve no doubt IT is a fine movie, and I have to say I really enjoyed the original even though it portrays the idea of a clown in a very negative light. But then some people wonder why some children and adults are terrified of clowns.” The World Clown Association went so far as to put together a press kit to help performers prepare for the release of the movie.
President Pam Moody said members were “blindsided” by the Creepy Clown phenomenon last Halloween. Earlier this week police in a quiet Pennsylvania town issued a “warning” after a prankster left red balloons tied to sewer grates.
Lititz Borough Police Department wrote: “We give points for creativity, however we want the local prankster to know we were completely terrified as we removed those balloons from the grates.”
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