Doctor Dressed As The Joker Delivers A Baby On Halloween

When Brittany Selph went into labor on Halloween, five days before her due date, she never expected the attending physician to be one of the most feared villains in the world, The Joker.

The Tennessee native, accompanied by her husband Justin, were surprised when their third child decided to arrive early on October 31, 2017. Apparently, so was their physician, Dr. Paul Locus, who was dressed as the Joker from the Heath Ledger installment of the Batman series for Halloween.

Brittany, who awoke on Halloween morning with her water ready to break, went to the hospital at 12:30 pm and checked in. Dr. Locus came to check on the couple in full costume but wearing the obligatory white coat. At 4:00 pm, the doctor returned but Brittany still wasn’t in labor, so Dr. Locus said he would go home, hand out some candy and then change.

Brittany, however, was enjoying the distraction and said, “Aww, we would hope that you wouldn’t change.” By 8:00 p.m., she was ready for delivery, so the nurse paged Dr. Locus and he came back to the hospital, in full Joker attire, ready to deliver the baby, a girl named Oaklyn.

"I think seeing him dressed up in the delivery room, it did kind of take away from everything I was doing and the pain," Brittany told TODAY. "It was a good laugh, it made me feel calm."

The presence of the Joker in the delivery room made for some memorable pictures. Although it will undoubtedly take baby Oaklyn some time to see the humor in her birthday photos, she will no doubt one day appreciate them.

"We kind of thought if he would stay in the delivery room, it would be kind of cool," said Justin. "He is such a genuine guy and a good sport. He would even talk every once in a while, in that Joker voice."

Given that Dr. Locus’ costume was so spot-on, it is no surprise that others got a kick out of it as well. The couple’s 10-year-old son Brenden posed for pictures with the villain that had delivered his baby sister. Not everyone was amused though. The couple’s 4-year-old daughter McKinley, who has a fear of clowns, steered clear of the good doctor.

The next morning, when Dr. Locus came to check on Brittany, he said, “Sorry I couldn’t make it in last night. Glad to see the delivery went well.” There’s a reason he dressed up as The Joker. He also gave her a card signed, Dr. Joker.

According to Henry County Medical Center director Rhonda Crossett, Dr. Locus has been dressing up for Halloween since the early days of his practice. "He loves going the extra mile to give them a unique and enjoyable delivery experience," she said.

Last year, the Selph family had a great idea for baby Oaklyn's first birthday. "We already have her first birthday planned out," Brittany said. 'It will have to be of course a pink Batman theme."