FameFlynet The true identity of the Northampton Clown, a masked man who wears a clown costume and stalks the streets of the small U.K. town at night, "terrorizing" locals, has remained a mystery. Until now.
And we could not be more disappointed. But more on that in a moment.
The man behind the mask—and one of the best stunts in a while—is 22-year-old filmmaker and Northampton University student Alex Powell, with help from two pals, Elliot Simpson and Luke Ubanksi.
Powell was outed as the clown by The Sunday People, when a photog caught Powell and his friends entering their apartment in regular clothing, then emerging "after the all clear was given by his friends" in full costume.
When confronted by a reporter, Powell admitted, "Okay, I am the clown, but I've been trying to keep it as mysterious as possible. To be discreet so people didn't find out."
"Your pictures are from the day I went to meet a little girl who only has six months to live," he continued, to the outlet. "Her mum messaged me saying she really wants to meet you before she dies. I took a picture with her and gave her a clown teddy and stuff."
Powell had previously denied being the Northampton clown, when the Internet unearthed a short video he created called "The Local Clown." At the time, he wrote, "There's been lots of rumours that I'm the Northampton Clown but I am NOT! But thanks for all the interest as it's shot my views right up."
The clown even took to his Facebook page and explained, "I may have to change my appearance as the actor in that 'Local Clown' film has the same costume as me."
Now that Powell has been outed, he admitted being the clown hasn't always been a walk in the park (or, more appropriately, a walk in park, in the dead of the night, holding a bouquet of balloons and simply staring at people).
"On Facebook I've had over a thousand death threats," Powell told the reporter, claiming that someone said they were going to stab him, while another threatened to run him over. "It was just a bit of fun at first and a lot of people seem to enjoy it but it gets a bit hard sometimes with the death threats."
Especially since Powell was just trying to "amuse" them.
Which he did. At the very least, he certainly amused us. Which is why we're disappointed: The Northampton Clown first popped up on Friday the 13th and we wish he had been able to keep his identity secret until Halloween.
So there you have it. The Northampton Clown has been unmasked.
Or has he?
The clown took to his Facebook page late last night and coyly wrote, "Don't worry, my identity is still safe. See you all soon! BEEP BEEP!"