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| Female Pierrot Clowns Source |
Clowns are scary. Even those without coulrophobia can admit that clowns, especially ones popping up when and where they obviously don't belong, are at the very least, unnerving. But what happens when those creepy clowns are...ghosts?
It all started on Thursday, June 3, 1937. Mourners were gathered at the Flaybrick Cemetery in Birkenhead, England. They were there to lay to rest Charles Fry, a pilot who was killed a few days earlier at the start of the London to I.O.M. air race. However, before the coffin was lowered into the plot, a lady in attendance noticed that the wrong grave had been opened. The grave was that of Fry's uncle, not the family plot in which he was supposed to be interred.
With the mistake caught, grave diggers got busy opening the correct grave. Many of the mourners decided to call it a day, but a handful waited the two hours it took to remedy the mistake and pay their last respects to the deceased. This much of the story is true. It was even noted in several local papers. What those same papers failed to include was the horrific scene that was said to take place during that two hour wait.
A woman showed up, dressed as a Pierrot clown. She laughed and joked and even mocked the undertaker's mistake. The remaining mourners couldn't believe that this obvious lunatic would act so disrespectfully at a burial ceremony, and tried to chase her away. Oddly, she disappeared and then reappeared behind tombstones in another section of the cemetery. Before leaving she even threw urns and flowers at the mourners.
One of the gravediggers, an older man, addressed the mourners. What they witnessed wasn't an insane, living woman. What they had witnessed was a ghost, and he had seen her before, back in 1910 dressed in the same costume.
The legend of the Flaybrick Ghost Clown would not be put to rest with Mr. Fry that summer day in 1937. She would be seen at least twice more in the 1990's. In the summer of 1995, a group of teenagers stuck over the cemetery wall late one night to play hide-and-seek. A fourteen year old girl was hiding behind a large, marble cross when she saw a shadow approaching. The shadow belonged to a woman, about 5'7'' wearing a white silk clown suit with pink pom poms and matching cap. Her face was caked thick with white makeup.
The clown lady swore at the girl to stay away from her grave. Understandably, the girl tried to take off running, but tripped and fell. It was then that she felt a gloved hand around her throat. She got loose and was able to run off and flee the cemetery with her friends following behind.
The following year, a news reporter and photographer were driving past the cemetery in order to cover a story about a local dam that was leaking. Over the top of the high cemetery wall leapt a woman dressed as a clown, running directly in front of their vehicle. The driver avoided hitting the woman, but nearly crashed in the process, as the clown easily leapt back over the 6 foot tall cemetery wall. Seeing the accident, an older gentleman came over and told the news crew that they had just witnessed the Flaybrick Clown Woman. No, she wasn't insane; she was dead.
Sometimes seen playing a guitar or ukelele, the clown is always dressed the same in her old-fashioned Pierrot clown garb. Locals and researchers alike have tried to identify the clown lady, but to no avail. The legend of the Flaybrick Clown remains unsolved. At best, she's a rather rude ghost who will interrupt a funeral with jokes, laughter, and unsolicited ukelele music. At worst, she's a menace to society, causing car crashes and throttling teenagers. Whichever version of her behavior you get, you have to admit that it's creepy AF.
Sources and Further Reading:
Flaybrick Memorial Gardens Website
The Clown Ghost of Flaybrick YouTube (BouncyClown)
Haunted Wirrel with Tom Slemen (Wirrel Globe, 07 March 2018)
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| Liverpool Echo 3 June 1937 |
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