A creepy clown who looks like the freaky character Pennywise from the Stephen King horror hit ‘IT’ posed the country a riddle earlier this week.
And it was an ‘IT’ consultant who helped unlock the locations where the country had been dared to take pictures of themselves in their ‘scariest faces’ ahead of Halloween next week.
The masked character, who posts on a Facebook page under the name of Cole Deimos and whose identity is unknown hit the headlines earlier this month as he set riddles for villagers to solve.
The fearsome look of the creature of the night though led to some parents no longer allowing their children out in the village of Skelmorlie, on the west coast of Ayrshire.
Just this week clown struck again, posting that he once again ‘created a game’, echoing the lines of another famous clown of recent nightmare films – Jigsaw of the Saw franchise.
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The rhyme gave a list of locations where the scary selfies should be taken, with some more cryptic than others.
It stated: ‘In the Loch Ness, home to our Nessie. In Falkirk the horses that go by the Kelpies.
‘In Glasgow the man with the cone on his head. At Edinburgh Castle where kings and queens met.
‘In Largs at the Pencil, where Vikings fought. And climb Ben Nevis right to the top.
‘Skara Brae from times of old. And at the Calanais Standing Stones.
‘All of these landmarks from the east to the west make up the country we know is the best.
‘Your game is quite simple, at each of these places… go take a picture with your scariest faces.
‘Post it online so your pic can be found and use the hashtag #Skelmorlieclown.’
For some Scots and those further afield with a knowledge of the country a few may seem obvious but some are distinctly vague for others.
But Metro.co.uk was quickly contacted by a quick-thinking reader who knew straight away where folks should be headed to complete the sinister task.
And it was all thanks to his super-sleuthing abilities developed through his line of work as an IT technician in Solihull more than 300 miles south of the clown’s last sighting.
Jamie Hall of Solihull College, told Metro.co.uk that he ran all the clues through an AI program that helped devise the locations that budding thrill seekers should seek out in the coming days for the ghoulish snaps.
Jamie said: ‘I’m an IT technician at a college and so I saw the riddle and ran it through some AI. So with very little effort, I was able to obtain all the locations.
‘Being 10 hours drive away means I can’t complete the mission, but I’m sure someone will.
‘What drew me to it was, I’m a sucker for finding answers. Hence the job working in IT and I’ve always had a curious mind when things like this pop up and with today’s technology I wanted to see if I could do it.’
The end result was a series of 10 locations across Scotland that are all significant landmarks and historical sites for the nation.
SPOILERS BELOW
Jamie’s list can be viewed below for those thinking of joining in on the Halloween horror.
Creepy clown’s riddles unpicked
The riddle in full: It stated: ‘In the Loch Ness, home to our Nessie. In Falkirk the horses that go by the Kelpies.
‘In Glasgow the man with the cone on his head. At Edinburgh Castle where kings and queens met.
‘In Largs at the Pencil, where Vikings fought. And climb Ben Nevis right to the top.
‘Skara Brae from times of old. And at the Calanais Standing Stones.
‘All of these landmarks from the east to the west make up the country we know is the best.
‘Your game is quite simple, at each of these places… go take a picture with your scariest faces.
ANSWERS
1. Robert Burns cottage – This refers to the birthplace of the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, which is located in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
2. Bannockburn monument – The Bannockburn monument commemorates the Battle of Bannockburn, a significant victory for the Scottish against the English in 1314. It is located near Stirling, Scotland.
3. Loch Ness – Loch Ness is a large lake in the Scottish Highlands and is famous for the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, often affectionately called Nessie.
4. Falkirk – The reference to “the horses that go by the Kelpies” is about the Kelpies, which are a pair of massive horse head sculptures located in Falkirk, Scotland.
5. Glasgow – The “man with the cone on his head” is a reference to a statue of the Duke of Wellington in Glasgow, which often has a traffic cone placed on top of its head by pranksters.
6. Edinburgh Castle – Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress that has been a royal residence and military stronghold. It’s located in the heart of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
7. Largs – “The Pencil” likely refers to the Pencil Monument in Largs, which commemorates the Battle of Largs, where Scottish forces repelled Viking invaders in the 13th century.
8. Ben Nevis – Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles and is located near Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Climbing it is a popular activity for hikers and mountaineers.
9. Skara Brae – Skara Brae is a well-preserved Neolithic village on the island of Orkney, Scotland. It dates back to around 3100 BCE.
10. Calanais Standing Stones – The Calanais Standing Stones, also known as the Callanish Stones, are a group of ancient stone monuments on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, dating from around 2900 BCE.
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