The place where it all began — Greenville, South Carolina. In late August 2016, reports of clowns attempting to lure kids into the woods behind the Fleetwood Manor apartment complex hit the airwaves. According to multiple residents, the clowns, who were carrying flashing green laser lights, crept around with money in hand to get kids to come to a nearby abandoned house. Police canvassed the area but found no evidence of anything suspicious. Still, creepy clown sightings spread to several cities across the U.S.

10-year-old Treymel Mitchell claims a clown approached him on Syracuse, New York's north side. Afraid he was going to be kidnapped, he ran away, hid between two nearby houses and called 911 for help. Mitchell says he was walking to school when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. "I saw a clown who was peeking through the bushes," he recalled. He said when he tried to get a better look at the figure that was looking back at him, "that's when it walked out and started making hand gestures at me, and it started staring at me." When police arrived, there was no clown in sight, but several other kids said they had seen people dressed as clowns in the area. Law enforcement has detailed descriptions of three suspects who may have been harassing the kids and say there will be consequences for those suspects if they're found.

A bus driver with Fort Wayne Community Schools in Indiana called police after a person dressed in a full clown costume approached approximately 11 students at a bus stop and scared them. A person wearing red hair, a red nose, and long, sharp teeth approached the kids, then took off on foot. Fort Wayne police are currently monitoring bus stops. An officer said that if the person had been caught, he or she would have been told simply to “knock it off" as it's not against the law to dress up and scare people, so perpetrators caught won't face fines or be arrested.

Christine Coiffard and Ricardo Ramos, both of Norwalk, Ohio, dressed in clown costumes and posted a photo of themselves on Facebook, claiming the clowns were spotted in the area. “Just thought it would be fun. Didn't expect it to blow up like it did,” Ramos said. “Watched everyone start sharing it, then we were listening to the police scanner, all the reportings, the sightings.” The post was shared more than 1,000 times, frightening many. Police started receiving multiple calls about people in clown costumes causing problems in Norwalk. They never found any criminal clowns, but they did find several groups of people out looking for them. “I get the people who are mad; I do understand that. But at the same time, we were just having fun, and we did we apologize to the Norwalk Police Department night shift. We didn't mean to keep you guys out,” Coiffard said, and added she doesn't regret posting the photo.

A Warren County, Ohio woman called 911 to report being chased by a clown. "I just got home from work and got out of my car — I have heard so much about this, I didn't know this was actually true — but I just got chased by a clown up to the door of my apartment," she told police. The clown, who was wearing white and red clothes and a plastic mask, made no threats, just ran at her.

A Reading, Ohio school district was closed in late September 2016 after a threat was made against students by a clown. The threat was made when a woman was assaulted by a malewho was dressed as a clown near the school. The victim was on her porch when she was approached from behind by the clown, who put her in a headlock, and said, "I should just kill you right now" and threatened the schools. A neighbor's smoke alarm going off scared her attacker into fleeing, and she called 911. No arrest has been made so far, but police believe the clown was a juvenile.

A 10-second cellphone video of a clown standing silently on the side of the road in Ocala, Florida has put neighbors on edge and law enforcement on the lookout. The video shows a person standing almost perfectly still in a clown mask and lurking in the tree line after dark along Northwest 57th Lane. A Facebook post regarding the incident soon went viral and prompted numerous Ocala residents to call 911. Marion County deputies to respond to the area on the ground and in the air, but nothing was found. The sheriff's office said whoever it was spotted wearing a clown costume wasn't breaking any laws, but regardless, deputies were keeping a close eye on the area.

Clown sightings have also reached Long Island, NY. Police issued warnings in late September 2016 of a group of people dressed as clowns who were jumping in front of cars. Officers investigated the reports, and came up with nothing. So far, no arrests have been made, but police warned people who may be involved that they are subject to violations and/or misdemeanor arrest under New York State law.

This is one clown sighting that, unfortunately, turned tragic. 16-year-old Pennsylvania high school sophomore Christian Torres is dead after having been stabbed when someone wearing a clown mask provoked a confrontation. Police say they're still sorting through various accounts of the incident that include the victim wearing the mask, the stabber wearing the mask, or someone else wearing it. No arrests have been made as of this writing.