When Water Valley resident Vicky Boykin called the police to report seeing a creepy clown in her yard, she thought she was doing the right thing to protect her family.

Now she says she’s having to protect herself from naysayers.

After seeing someone with a clown mask in her yard on Central Street Saturday night, family members chased the clown into the woods but eventually lost him. Boykin called the Water Valley Police Department, and though officers came out to investigate, they did not find anyone dressed like a clown, according to Chief Mike King.

Boykin posted her account of the incident on her Facebook page and told the EAGLE Wednesday she’s been the butt of jokes and criticized by people accusing her of making up the story.

“Some people are joking and laughing about it,” she said. “Police are telling people it’s nothing to worry about and are making jokes about it. Some say I should have just not said anything. I really don’t know why it was here.”

Copycat clown

Clown sightings have been popping up across the nation. While most seem to be practical jokes, some people have reported seeing clowns holding machetes and trying to lure children into wooded areas.

“I’m not laughing,” Boykin said. “They’re playing a stupid, messed-up joke. It was a scary thing and all I did is try to warn people.”

One woman posted on Boykin’s Facebook page that her daughter was afraid to go to sleep after hearing about the clown sighting, telling Boykin “it was all her fault” for saying something to police and on Facebook.

Boykin said she’s lived in Water Valley for four years but is now considering moving because of how some have treated her since reporting the sighting.

“I’m not crazy,” Boykin said. “This was not made up. It was real. People can talk all they want, but what was seen was seen.”