The Crimson Clown is Delton Prouse, a wealthy young bachelor, able veteran of The Great War, explorer, and all-around adventurer who functions as a modern Robin Hood, stealing from the unjustly rich and returning money to helpless victims or worthy organizations. He dresses in a mostly red clown suit and uses a syringe of knockout drug (later this is replaced by a "gas gun"). Like McCulley's earlier "Man in Purple", who also stole from the unjustly rich, he frequently had to destroy his outfits to evade capture.

His clown outfit is described as a red “onesie” with hood, and he wears a white mask unlike the outfit you see on the pulp covers which shows a clown in a red outfit with a white grease-paint face.

Delton Prouse was an exceptional thief, a master of acting and gathering information, often pretending to fall victim to the Crimson Clowns schemes. He was also highly intelligent, able to avoid cops and break into various buildings with ease. He was also exceptional at intimidation and sensing out traps, often predicting the traps his victims have set to avoid giving him his due.

Sprouse carried various equipment with him during his various capers, including:
* A cane sword.
* A revolver hidden under his hat.
* A second automatic pistol.
* Several hyperemic needles filled with a knock out drug.
* A peppers pray gun disguised as a pistol.
* Several copies of his costume, which had false fingerprints.
* Acid to burn the costumes upon removal.
* A miniature blowtorch.

*“The Crimson Clown,” July 31, 1926
*“The Crimson Clown is Cornered,” Aug. 21, 1926
*“The Crimson Clown’s Competitors,” Sept. 4, 1926
*“The Crimson Clown Pursues Himself,” Sept. 18, 1926
* “The Crimson Clown’s Dumb Friend,” April 23,, 1927
*“The Crimson Clown’s Treasure Hunt,” June 18, 1927
* “The Crimson Clown’s Blackmail Trail,” Oct. 29, 1927
*“The Crimson Clown’s Double,” Dec 24, 1927
*“The Crimson Clown’s Winged Loot,” Feb 18, 1928
*“The Crimson Clown’s Matinee,” Sept. 29, 1928
*“The Crimson Clown Scores with a Snore,” Nov. 3, 1928
*“Thubway Tham Meets The Crimson Clown,” (5 parts) Nov. 11 through Dec 09, 1928
*The Crimson Clown Faces Murder, Detective Story Magazine, May 25 1929
*The Crimson Clown's Return, Detective Story Magazine, October 18 1930
*The Crimson Clown – Avenger, Detective Story Magazine, November 29 1930

*As of January 1, 2026, only Crimson Clown stories that were published before )-(95)}} are public domain.

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_McCulley Wikipedia]
*[https://jessnevins.com/blog/?p=576 Best of the Encyclopedia of Pulp Heroes]
*[https://thepulp.net/pulpsuperfan/2015/01/12/the-crimson-clown/ Pulp Super Fan]
*[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/crimsonclown.htm International Hero]

Category:1926 Debuts
Category:Literary Characters
Category:Pulp Characters
Category:Street and Smith Characters
Category:Johnston McCulley-Creator
Category:Male Characters
Category:Clown Themed Characters
Category:Protagonists