In this contentious age we live in, there's a lot of Halloween costumes that you might think would be banned from a Halloween party.

So is it ethnic stereotypes? Nope. Political figures? No. Murderous movie characters? Nope.

Clowns. That's what the Oak Park Boo Bash has banned. Kids dressed like clowns.

Why? According to Oak Park recreation director Laurie Stasiak, not only are they looking out for people with phobias and anxieties around clowns, but the characters have gotten increasingly creepy in the past few years. That’s partially due to the new “It” movie that has popularized sinister looking Pennywise The Clown costumes, but also because of how clown have been popping up in the news… and not for a laugh.

“This event is centered around young children,” Stasiak told the Oakland County Times. “About 3 years [ago] there were national incidents in the news [where] people were dressing up as clowns and scaring people, and in some cases assaulting them.”

But what about Bozo? He seems legit, and he can do magic tricks!  

Not if he sets off someone's clown phobia.

tobkatrina/ThinkStock
tobkatrina/ThinkStock
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