The Spooky Tale of a Saturday Night Hallo

Published on October 31, 2026

Give everyone in Lawrence a reason to dress up, sugar up, and drink up on a weekend night. Then – as Daylight Saving Time ends -- give them an extra hour to extend the party.  

“Is it a full moon too?” asks one detective.  

“I’m glad I’m not working that night,” chimes in a patrol officer while another tries to bring in a positive spin: “No, it’s nice because the night goes by really fast.”   

Sounds like a full night of “aggravated shenanigans,” jokes her coworker.

“I’m on call,” says one detective listening in, who decides he may just come in rather than wait for his phone to ring.

The Perfect Party Plot

The last time the stars aligned to create such an event was technically in 2020, but with many Covid precautions still in place, we really need to travel back to October 31, 2015, to examine the perfect party plot.  It’s a frightening flashback: the same extra hour on a Saturday, plus, the Royals were playing game 4 of the World Series and it was homecoming weekend for the Jayhawks. 

In the police world, this combination of events doesn’t necessarily translate into more arrests or more crimes being committed.  It has, however, resulted in some curious calls.  

The Clown Craze

“I remember one year when people were calling in reporting clowns in the storm drains, “says a Patrol Commander, “Research that.”  

Well, I did.  Yep.  It seems when the horror movie “It” came out in 2017, people in several cities were tying balloons to storm drains. The movie was based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel about a clown who hid in storm drains and used red balloons to entice his victims.  

The fear of clowns, however, was well-documented in Lawrence the year before the film’s release when a sorority went into lockdown and reported “stalking clowns” to emergency dispatchers.  Police arrived, found no danger, and quelled the panic.  

That same year, “waving clowns” were reported to be walking through business parking lots in west Lawrence. Officers responded and the investigation revealed the clowns were, in fact, simply waving hello to passers-by.  No crime committed.

Stephen King himself even tried to calm the clown craze a year before the movie’s release posting: “Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria – most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.” 

Clearly, that didn’t work.  

This year, we’re already seeing reports in other cities about red balloons reappearing as a tribute to actor Tim Curry, who passed away this summer and famously played Pennywise the Clown in the 1990 television miniseries.

Regardless of your plans for this spooktacular Saturday, one thing’s for sure.  It will be busy and officers are standing by to answer the call if you need them.  

“I think it’s exciting,” says Lieutenant David Ernst. “You get an extra hour for the young people to enjoy themselves and it just brings an extra level of fun to the evening.”

Officers also hope you remember Stephen King’s advice when it comes to clowns this year.   

And they have one small request: No red balloons on storm drains.  It really is just a bit spooky.