Even Stephen King Has Had Enough of Your Clown Fears

Stephen King, the creator of the nightmare-inducing clown in the horror novel and miniseries It, is not amused with the widespread clown paranoia that has been playing out across the country.

The best-selling author stood up for clowns on Monday and urged calm as threats of armed clowns shut down a Massachusetts college and a mob of Penn State students rushed the streets to hunt for clowns.

“Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria—most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh,” King wrote on Twitter.

It’s a stronger stance for King, who first spoke out about the clown hype early last month, telling his hometown newspaper, The Bangor Daily News, that “the clown furor will pass, as these things do.”

“But it will come back, because under the right circumstances, clowns really can be terrifying,” King said at the time.