LET’S hope that this Halloween marks a finish to the dangerously stupid craze of so-called “killer clowns”.

The trend for dressing up as clowns and employing menacing behaviour has become increasingly common, already resulting in some violence and in some cases resulted in many people, especially youngsters, being scared out of their wits.

The juxtaposition of the friendly, laughing clown and terrifying menace is frightening, although some plainly deluded yobs are calling it “fun” and believe there is no harm in scaring people.

Police are taking the trend seriously and warn they will prosecute.

In the meantime, parents in particular are naturally worried about children too scared to sleep in the dark or walk alone.

Humans do enjoy being scared sometimes – witness the enduring popularity of horror films. We also love ghost stories and that shivery thrill of the unknown.

People in mad make-up and wigs carrying weapons, is something else altogether and We can only hope that this goes the way of all trends and simply dies out.