Person

Loren Coleman

American researcher who tracked and named the 1981 Boston-area phantom clown reports, documenting the pattern and comparing it to earlier rumour-driven American panics.

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Theories & Explanations

Phantom Clown Moral-Panic Explanation
Loren Coleman discovered Phantom Clown Moral-Panic Explanation — Coleman coined and documented the 'phantom clown' pattern after tracking the 1981 Boston-area reports.

Events

1981 Boston-Area Phantom Clown PanicMay 1981
Loren Coleman investigated 1981 Boston-Area Phantom Clown Panic — Coleman tracked the panic's spread across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Kansas City in real time.

Explored on these pages

What Caused the Phantom Clown Panics of 1981 and 2016?

What caused the 1981 Boston-area and 2016 US 'phantom clown' scares: how rumours of costumed strangers spread nationwide with almost no confirmed sightings.