Homeowner Bans Clowns From Trick-Or-Treating On Halloween
By Tom Mustin
LONE TREE, Colo. (CBS4)- For the past few months, fiendish clowns- real and imagined- have been reported across the country, including Colorado. Now a Douglas County woman is worried a clown catastrophe may be brewing on Halloween. She's taking steps to make her home clown-free on Oct. 31.
"You open up a door and don't know who's on the other side," said Susan DiBartolomeo.
She is worried about clowns this Halloween.
"It's going to desensitize kids from clowns," DiBartolomeo told CBS4's Tom Mustin.
The Lone Tree mother of two says because of the recent creepy clown scare, she'll place a sign on her house banning trick-or-treaters in clown costumes from receiving candy.
"It's going to be a tough one to word, but we're definitely going to put something up."
Susan is worried Halloween night could be the perfect opportunity for clowns with bad intentions to blend in with others and cause problems.
"A lot of it's a hoax, I agree with that, but there's going to be people that don't find it a hoax and are going to use it for something that's not a good thing," said DiBartolomeo.
Two doors down, Brett Mill has decorated his home for Halloween. Brett says Susan's anti-clown sign goes too far.
"I think she's entitled to put up the sign, but don't take the spirit out of Halloween," said Mill.
As luck would have it, Brett's sixth grade son, Ryland, will dress as a clown for Halloween. Ryland says the recent hysteria has made the clown costume extremely popular at his school.
"As soon as someone started making scary stuff about clowns, everybody started joining in," he said.
And as Susan prepares her anti-clown sign, Ryland Mill has a message for his fellow neighbors, "Stay safe and watch out for clowns."
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says there has not been a problem with creepy clowns in the area. They will, however, do everything they can to ensure the safety of Douglas County residents on Halloween.
Tom Mustin is CBS4's Weekend Anchor. He has been with CBS4 since 2002, and is always looking for great story ideas. Connect with Tom on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @TomCBS4.
