No Clowns Allowed

Ok, so the sign might have been a mistake. And I should probably start at the beginning. So, I hate clowns. Like they are creepy, not funny, and I do not want them near me. I like Halloween, but just… so many people choose clown costumes these days.

So I put up the sign. The NO CLOWNS ALLOWED sign. I put it up on the morning before Halloween and when I looked outside, there were balloons tied to it. I didn't put two and two together at that point, I just thought that some kid on the block might be celebrating their birthday or something.

I was woken up several times that night. First, somebody laughed on the street, I assumed it was some random drunk and ignored it. Then I heard music, like a weird circus sound? Calliope. That is the name of the instrument. Yeah, I heard that as a kid, and it sounded just like that. Then there were other weird noises, I think somebody might have been hitting cymbals. I have chalked it up to some weird dreams and maybe some cars blasting music going by.

I slept the majority of the day on halloween, and woke up after dusk, I am blaming the sleepless night for that. And just like that, my doorbell rang. ‘The kids are here for the candy’ I thought as I went to open the door.

There were no kids. Only a clown standing by the sign. I shouted "Can you read?" and closed the door. Couple of kids showed up, and to my joy, the clown apparently could read. So I relaxed a bit and chilled with a movie. And then, I opened the door to two clowns by the sign.

I just closed the doors, thinking this is a prank. If it were, it was a really elaborate one, because it repeated a few times, the clowns growing more and more in their numbers.

At some point I lost it, screamed at them to get off my lawn, and threw the bowl with candies in their general direction. I have only managed to knock the sign over. I shut the door and locked it. And then I quickly peeked through the window.

The street... was empty. I sighed with relief wondering, how did they leave so fast and I turned to go to the living room. And there they were. All of them were inside. Standing there. Staring. I... I think I screamed? Next thing I know is that I have apparently been in a hospital for a long time following a mental breakdown.

The doctors say the clowns were not inside, that there were no signs that somebody except for me was in my home, that they must have been hallucinations resulting from the stress.

I would love to believe them. I really would love to, but it's the day before Halloween now. And I woke up to balloons tied to my bed.