REVISION: Halle Kiefer's Friend's Story

Some people say they're afraid of clowns. Maybe even you. The thing is, you're a liar.

You're not really afraid of clowns. Maybe they weird you out. Maybe you're slightly disarmed at best in the presence of a clown. But you're not truly afraid of clowns.

However, some people truly are. Enter the kid of the story, who I'll call Herbert because I don't know his real name. Herbert goes to school somewhere else. Herbert is terrified of clowns.

Herbie was walking down the sidewalk at midnight one night. He was alone. He could not see very well, for some reason (beyond the fact it was dark, he had some sort of vision impairment, but I never met him, so I couldn't speak to the nature or degree). Herbie saw someone coming towards him. The shape was hazy, but the figure was tall.

And then Herbie realized that the looming creature was wearing big shoes. Really big shoes.

But hey, it's cool. Come on man, it's just a clown. Just a guy dressed up in weird clothes. Keep it together. Keep it collected. Walk by him calmly. But then the clown talked--in a soft, creepy ass voice:

"You dropped your smile..."

Herb's reaction was not to dance and sing and chuckle with amiable glee. I'm pretty sure, in fact, it was the exact opposite of that.