ITHACA, N.Y. — There has been one call to Ithaca College police about a “clown sighting” on campus, and the report was from a person who did not actually see the clown. But seeing as clowns can be, well, creepy, people were still freaked out about the alleged sighting.

Administrative Lieutenant Thomas E. Dunn said in a statement:

On 10/03/2016 at about 11:35 pm, Ithaca College Public Safety received a phone call that reported a clown sighting near the Athletic & Event Center on the Ithaca College Campus. The caller was providing third hand information; the caller had read this on social media. Officers searched the area and did not find anyone matching that description.      

Officer Jamie Williamson, of the Ithaca Police Department, and Lieutenant Dan Donahue, of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department, both said Tuesday afternoon that no clown sighting had been reported to the agencies.

The reports of creepy clowns are part of a national trend happening across the country, where people dressed as clowns linger near wooded areas, allegedly try to call children toward them, or stare at people in streets or parking lots. A Texas woman reported Tuesday that she was attacked by a clown, though another reported clown attack in Ohio within the past week has proved to be false.

Some reports claim the clown sightings could be part of a marketing ploy for Director Rob Zombie’s latest movie ’31,’ which features creepy clowns. But Saban Films, who is distributing the movie, has denied involvement in the activities.

At SUNY Cortland, students reported seeing a person dressed as a clown Sunday night, but police were again unable to substantiate the claim.

Whether the clown sightings are a hoax or not, people are still freaking out about them. Here are a few tweets we gathered about the alleged local clowns:

Featured image courtesy of Flickr. 

Jolene Almendarez is Managing Editor at The Ithaca Voice. She can be reached at jalmendarez@ithacavoice.com; you can learn more about her at the links in the top right of this box.