--- title: Police Respond to Creepy It Red Balloon Clown Prank description: Pennsylvania police would like the prankster to know they were "completely terrified" while removing the balloons from the sewer grates canonical: https://time.com/4929026/it-prank-red-balloon/ copyright: © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved. terms: https://legal.time.com/terms-of-service/ license_contact: syndication@time.com author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-06T15:58:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T04:00:13.000Z og:title: Police: Please Stop Tying Creepy Red Balloons to Sewers og:description: Pennsylvania police were "completely terrified" while removing the balloons og:url: https://time.com/4929026/it-prank-red-balloon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b02e0a5344ac857/6988dca50a4a22ae909cfc6d/gettyimages-843125940.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-PREMIERE-IT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Police: Please Stop Tying Creepy Red Balloons to Sewers twitter:description: Pennsylvania police were "completely terrified" while removing the balloons twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b02e0a5344ac857/6988dca50a4a22ae909cfc6d/gettyimages-843125940.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Police Would Like You to Please Stop Tying Creepy Red Balloons to Sewers > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f19bbe13-9580-475a-97bf-f4a0e9c87a25&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: IT - Official Teaser Trailer [Watch (HLS stream): IT - Official Teaser Trailer](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/v8JSQCiT.m3u8) (2:32)  _Published 2017-08-28. IT - Official Teaser Trailer_ by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:00 AM UTCPublished: Sep 6, 2017 3:58 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:00 AM UTCPublished: Sep 6, 2017 3:58 PM UTC If pranksters have their way this will be the creepiest town in America. Someone in Lititz, Pennsylvania has been tying red balloons to sewer grates around the city and it’s scaring the tuna salad out of residents. Now, the Lititz Borough Police Department would really like whoever is pulling the stunt to knock it off, not only because it’s creeping out the residents, but because it’s taking up police resources whenever a freaked out person calls the cops cause [a clown](http://time.com/4518456/scary-clown-sighting-attack-craze/?iid=sr-link9) might be lurking in the sewer grate. “I don’t think we have an accurate balloon count, but it’s definitely above 20,” Sgt. Stephen Detz with the Lititz Borough Police Department [told CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pennsylvania-police-red-balloons-tied-to-sewer-grates/). “They pretty much hit the entire town and the area around the town.” While some community members may have missed the inspiration behind the prank, the police are canny and know that the balloons were [inspired by ](http://time.com/4921938/world-clowns-sad-it/?iid=sr-link1)[_It_](http://time.com/4921938/world-clowns-sad-it/?iid=sr-link1)_,_ the [Stephen King](http://time.com/4915867/stephen-king-trump-block/?iid=sr-link2) book-turned-movie about a [killer clown ](http://time.com/4521464/insane-clown-posse-killer-clowns/?iid=sr-link4)who lures children into sewers with red balloons. They took to Facebook to warn the public about the menace. “Search _It_ and watch the preview, but we suggest watching it with a friend or coworker with all the lights on and the sound down low,” the department [wrote](https://www.facebook.com/LititzBoroughPoliceDepartment/). While they wait for the movie to hit theaters, the police department has been dispatching officers to deal with the balloons and “want the local prankster to know that we were completely terrified as we removed \[the\] balloons.” The police department may sound tough now, but that attitude could disappear if it turns out the prankster is in fact [Pennywise](http://time.com/4550480/pennsylvania-joggers-clown-mask-school-police-chief/?iid=sr-link6). Even a Kansas police station’s Twitter account weighed in. > [](https://twitter.com/LawrenceKS%5FPD/status/905430343251099649) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] There you go, she's already captain. Thanks Billy. [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] NO! [ NOISE ] [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] Derry's not like any town I've ever been in before. People To higher disappear six times the national average, and that's just grownups, kids are worse. [ MUSIC ] Way, way worse. [ MUSIC ] We all float down here. [ SOUND ] I just saw something. There was this [ MUSIC ] Yeah I saw him too. Look, it's all connected by the sewers. That's where it lives. [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] If you come with me you will fly too. You'll float too, you'll float too, you'll float too, you'll float too! 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