DM Pranks is an Italian

YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...

created by Matteo Moroni. In 2013, he began to play

pranks A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

, and post

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

on a channel on YouTube. As of May 2020, their channel has nearly 5 million subscribers and more than 215 million video views. The YouTube channel is known for its " killer clown" character, which scares members of the public by running at them wielding hammers or chainsaws.

Early life

Matteo Moroni was born in Castiglione del Lago,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on June 25, 1987, and moved to

Magione Magione () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 15 km west of Perugia. Magione borders the following municipalities: Castiglione del Lago, Corciano, Panicale, Passignano sul ...

where he was raised.

YouTube career

In 2015 one of Moroni's external collaborators Diego Dolciami unfaithfully registered the "DM PRANKS" trademark. In January 2018 the federal district of California sentenced Dolciami for the use of the competing mark which constitutes trademark infringement and competing application was made in bad faith and constitutes fraud upon the USPTO.

Killer Clown

A video entitled "Killer Clown Scare Prank!", posted on May 11, 2014 and has over 52 million views, shows DM Pranks "pranking" a victim dousing the area around his car with what appears to be

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

. In the same video a clown set up large bottles on a dummy's head that he filled with

fake blood Theatrical blood, stage blood or fake blood is anything used as a substitute for blood in a theatrical or cinematic performance. For example, in the special effects industry, when a director needs to simulate an actor being shot or cut, a wide ...

and then smashed with a large hammer to simulate a murder. The video "Killer Clown Returns Scare Prank!" was posted on June 15, 2014 and has over 85 million views. It features a fake clown pranking passers by running after them with an iron hammer or a

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...

. On September 7, 2014, DM Pranks received the first significant success, with the video "Killer Clown 3 - The Uncle! Scare Prank!". A man dressed up as a clown scared random bystanders with a

road roller A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or just roller) is a compactor-type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are used also at la ...

. By September 2014 the "Killer Clown 3 - The Uncle! Scare Prank!" had been viewed more than 105 million times. On November 16, 2014, DM Pranks filmed a prank entitled "Killer Clown 4 - Massacre! Scare Prank!", involving two clowns driving a car and then hitting a

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...

. In the video the clowns scared a man in a

public toilet A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

by setting up a fake chainsaw murder. The YouTube video now has over 62 million views.

Other characters

Other videos they have created include the "Devil's Daughter Scare Prank!", featuring a devil woman who scared people by screaming. The video was uploaded on August 3, 2014 and generated more than 34 million views. Another one of DM Pranks's videos is titled "Telekinetic Priest Attack Scare Prank!". This video was posted on July 9, 2014 and has over 18 million views. It features a fake

telekinetic Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

going after people and making chairs and garbage move. On March 17, 2014, DM Pranks pulled a prank called "Flamethrower Psycho Scare Prank" which involved a dark dressed man running after people with a flamethrower. The prank went viral receiving over 14 million views.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pranks, DM 1987 births Living people Italian directors Prank YouTubers People from Perugia Italian YouTubers YouTube channels launched in 2013 People from Castiglione del Lago Comedy YouTubers