German amusement park bans clown masks for Halloween celebrations
Germany - A German amusement park has banned guests dressing up in clown masks for its upcoming Halloween celebrations, according to a statement made on Saturday.
The move comes after German authorities told dpa Wednesday they had registered 370 incidents across Germany involving people dressed as so-called scary clowns.
The incidents ranged from random sightings of people dressed in clown outfits to attacks on people with knives or other weapons, police and court authorities said.
"From now on, people dressed as scary clowns will not be able to enter the park," the statement from Holiday Park, a popular amusement park in south-western Germany, said.
Guests are also banned from wearing any face-covering masks inside the park the statement said ahead of Halloween on Monday.
"We are asking all fans of Halloween and horror to be understanding," it said.
Sightings of scary clowns began more than a month ago in the area around Greenville, South Carolina in the US, before the phenomenon spread around the country and then overseas.