# Gacy was NOT a Killer Clown **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861 "2024-09-06T16:28:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/21 "2024-09-06T22:38:25Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > I just am annoyed by the inaccurate depiction of my hometown’s history. I know what you mean. True crime blogs/video/podcasts only have to do one thing - be about crime and be true. How hard can that be? Like there isn’t enough crime out there and they have to make it up? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/22 "2024-09-06T23:06:00Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Not judging but, dude, what a strange thing to spin out about. We’re dedicated to “fighting ignorance”; and the post directly below yours shows that this is a place where there’s ignorance to be fought. > [@Smapti](#): > > I only really read about Gacy and his crimes earlier this year, and I was surprised to learn that the clowning had nothing to do with his murders. From what I’d gleaned via pop culture osmosis I assumed he’d been using his clown persona to lure young children ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/23 "2024-09-06T23:14:46Z")
I’ve been afraid of clowns ever since I saw the _One Step Beyond_ episode called “The Clown” in 1960. It freaked me out, and I continued to be freaked out for years afterwards. > **["One Step Beyond" The Clown (TV Episode 1960) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0507810/fullcredits)** > > "One Step Beyond" The Clown (TV Episode 1960) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/24 "2024-09-06T23:21:09Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > “(John Wayne Gacy) …would sometimes wear his clown costume while torturing and killing his victims.” > > No. Nononononono… .and more no’s. Umm, why do you care? And, you know, his victims are , well _dead_, and I doubt if we know what he was wearing when he did his horrible acts. Maybe a Nixon mask. In any case, he did play a clown, and he did horrible violent acts. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/25 "2024-09-06T23:34:10Z")
Magno and Davey (not to mention, Batman) were dealing with killer clowns back in the 1940s. [![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yfDr2xZnqVghcLl0So73ITDIFM8QLyyxgumzPbv_yvIcojXuNjIQKkv5IMSCp8rVvLTZfKF_TfYG5ZDBTzUZnNXXo89ZStXtsP1RAFMMcxIGH62YcYOZdVOtRQ2VFyLqIHNCQz2XCCVo/s1600/super-mystery+comics+v3+%2523+5+cover.jpg) ](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5yfDr2xZnqVghcLl0So73ITDIFM8QLyyxgumzPbv_yvIcojXuNjIQKkv5IMSCp8rVvLTZfKF_TfYG5ZDBTzUZnNXXo89ZStXtsP1RAFMMcxIGH62YcYOZdVOtRQ2VFyLqIHNCQz2XCCVo/s1600/super-mystery+comics+v3+%2523+5+cover.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/26 "2024-09-06T23:40:27Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I suppose painting him as a “killer clown” instead makes his victims seem more sympathetic, or like it could’ve happened to anyone? Nah, it just makes for a more lurid story. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/27 "2024-09-06T23:42:21Z")
And who can forget the clown rapist in the _Sylvia_ episode of **Little House on the Prairie**? (Spoiler: Sylvia dies.) One of the freakiest episodes ever shown on broadcast TV. > **["Little House on the Prairie" Sylvia (Part One) (TV Episode 1981) ⭐ 8.4 |...](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0633075/?ref_=ext_shr)** > > 50m | TV-PG ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/28 "2024-09-06T23:43:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Umm, why do you care? Why do you care if people tell accurate stories about WWII exploits? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/29 "2024-09-06T23:48:01Z")
Here’s a real-life killer clown: > **['Killer clown' victim's son reflects on 33-year fight for justice](https://abcnews.go.com/US/killer-clown-victims-son-reflects-33-year-fight/story?id=98941520)** > > After years of dead ends and long legal battles, Marlene Warren's son said he feels that he is at peace following the plea deal of the "killer clown" of Wellington. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/30 "2024-09-06T23:49:46Z")
Yes, but one has nothing to do with the other. John Wilkes Booth was an actor and an assassin. But he didn’t shoot Lincoln because he thought it would be the greatest stage performance in history. It would be ignorant to propose such a thing. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/31 "2024-09-07T00:20:30Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Clowns have always been scary(to me). Bozo was the worst. > I’m sure they’ve been scary since early circuses and court jesters and those French things, Pierrot(or however it’s spelled)… > > I’m think you’re right about Gacy. And his clown exploits. > I don’t think _clown_ when I read his name. At. All. > > Not sure what others think. I’ve never been afraid of clowns, myself. That said, my parents had in their house ever since I was little, a watercolor painting of a “Pierrot”-type clown (I believe it had been painted by my great-aunt). I can’t remember the last time I saw it, but I’m pretty sure I was a teenager. I recall that that clown ALWAYS gave me the willies (even as a teenager). I’ve often wondered what became of that painting. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/32 "2024-09-07T00:35:18Z")
I never understood being afraid of clowns myself. They’re whimsical and merry. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/33 "2024-09-07T00:43:36Z")
There was Jean-Gaspard Deburau, a French pantomime clown, who cracked a little boy’s skull with his cane in 1836. He was acquitted (the boy was a rude street urchin, after all). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/34 "2024-09-07T00:52:34Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Nah, it just makes for a more lurid story. Seems to me that the real story of a self-loathing closeted gay man maintaining the appearance of a normal family life and a respectable business while cruising for teen hookups and then killing them for the thrill of it and because he was ashamed of his own urges is lurid enough. Maybe people didn’t like to talk about the gay aspect in the '70s because people would think the victims had it coming or hold it up as proof that gay people are all violent killers. Then there’s the allegations of his being linked to a human trafficking / child porn network, which almost never get mentioned even in true crime videos. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/35 "2024-09-07T01:30:38Z")
What does Gacy being or not being a clown have to do with your town. Are they cashing in the Gacy story. I have a feeling they’d rather it never came up. Clown or no. Every town has a few bad history stories. Doesn’t make them bad, it’s just how things are. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/36 "2024-09-07T01:34:35Z")
Does Booth make all actors bad. Or the profession? It was Dr. Mudd who’s name was mud🤭 ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/37 "2024-09-07T02:09:16Z")
Speaking of Mr. Gacy… “What was John Wayne Gacy’s favorite Country song?” \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* \* “Walkin’ the Floor Over You” (If you remember the case, you’ll get this.) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/38 "2024-09-07T02:29:40Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > There is no, repeat, NO evidence that Gacy wore his clown costume while murdering people. \* > > > Only one of his victims lived to tell the tale > > \*, and at no time did that person mention a clown costume. He said Gacy was naked during his ordeal. John Wayne Gacy murdered at least 33 victims. The fact that One Survivor doesn’t mention a clown outfit isn’t proof that he never did. The only reason he dressed as a clown was to be near children. To find victims. Killer Clown, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/39 "2024-09-07T02:37:33Z")
So anyone who does a clown act is a pedophile. Got it. Gacy wasn’t into prepubescent children. He was into teenagers who were well beyond being impressed by a clown. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2024, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861/40 "2024-09-07T02:40:00Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > We’re dedicated to “fighting ignorance”; and the post directly below yours shows that this is a place where there’s ignorance to be fought. Not sure what your point is. No one in this thread, especially me, is disputing the OP’s premise. In fact, the OP admitted that being really upset about others misunderstanding about Gacy’s MO isn’t necessarily rational. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gacy-was-not-a-killer-clown/1006861.md?page=3)