Hey Bookworms! I have to tell you guys a story my niece told me at Thanksgiving dinner. Her friend, Taylor, recently moved about an hour away. They still keep in touch, though. Taylor digs her new town and she’s started babysitting to earn some spending money.

A couple of weeks ago, her mom came to her with an offer. A guy she works with needed a babysitter for Saturday night. He’s a nice guy, just a total horror movie nerd, so she volunteered Taylor. She even went over with Taylor after work on Friday to make sure everything was cool. The whole family was really sweet and Taylor and her mom felt good about the situation.

Anyway, Taylor shows up on Saturday night. The kids aren’t allowed any more screen time for the day, so they did some craft projects in the playroom before Taylor made dinner. Taylor is a dope babysitter, y'all. Pretty soon, it was bed time, so after some tooth scrubbin’ and a story, the little girls were tucked away safe and sound. The parents would be out for a few more hourse, so Taylor decided to watch the new Sabrina reboot.

She flipped on the light to the living room and nearly jumped straight out of her skin. In the corner of the room stood a life-size clown statue. Straight out of a nightmare circus, it had a rainbow wig, colorful jumpsuit, everything but a squirting lapel pin. She has a full on wiggins before remembering the dad loved horror. She pegged him as a Stephen King fan, took a couple of deep breaths and got cozy on the couch.

Sabrina was pretty good. Creepy, but not as creepy as that stupid clown statue. She felt like it was staring right at her. Eventually, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she had to get out of there. She went to the kitchen to get a drink and maybe a snack, as you do. She was pouring a glass of juice when the mom called her to check in. She said things were fine; then, before she could stop herself , she blurted out “Except the clown. I scare myself every time I walk into the living room.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Finally, the mom tells Taylor to act as natural as she can, but to go get the kids and get over to the neighbors house as quickly as she can. Taylor, super freaked out, did as she was told. Because she's a dope sitter.

Turns out, the family doesn’t have a clown statue. Some guy, who had been casing the house, sneaked in and hid before the parents left. He was waiting for Taylor to get sleepy before he tied them all up and robbed the place. At least that’s what he told the cops. Can you believe how lucky she got? It just goes to show that, no matter how careful you think you’re being, you’re never being careful enough.

Aren’t urban legends just the best? Still, keep in mind, all those stories are based on at least a little truth. Stay safe out there and remember, if you go to someone’s house and see a life-size clown statue turn yourself around and walk right on back out. Either there’s a whimsically disguised potential murderer in the house or that person just really loves clowns. Both options are terrible and, either way, my booky dubs deserve better.

#folklore