Recently, the characters we trusted in our childhood for entertainment have taken a dark turn. All over the country, people are taking advantage of the common phobia of clowns to cause public terror.

Though this may seem like a new occurrence, Director of Public Safety Mike Munford is quick to remind the public that sightings of clowns were popular in the 1980s. He speculates that the presence of social media may be to blame for the escalation this time around.

According to the New York Times, the most recent form of the trend can be traced back to an incident on Aug. 1 when a man wandered the streets of Green Bay, Wisconsin in full costume and four black balloons. Though it was later revealed to be a publicity stunt for a short film that had been produced in the area, the pictures from the incident were shared thousands of times and may be to blame for the sudden rise in pranking clowns.

Since that event, there have been reports of clowns with questionable intentions in at least 20 states. When investigated, the sightings more often boil down to pranksters than aspiring criminals. It is the opinion of many that people with criminal intentions are unlikely to want to attract attention to themselves by dressing up as clowns.

Minnesota has been relatively safe from clowns, but there have been a couple incidents worth noting.

On Oct. 8, three teenagers were arrested in Crookston, Minnesota after chasing an 11-year-old boy. Only one of the trio was dressed as a clown (his costume complete with a large knife), but all three have pending criminal charges.

Not all clowns are out chasing people, though. Some prefer to spread fear on social media. A 15-year-old female was arrested on Oct. 5 for posting violent threats targeting several major Minnesota cities under a clown alias, Kroacky Klown.

Even closer to home, there have been at least two verified sightings of clowns on the SMSU campus and rumors of four. It is unclear if this is the work of an individual clown or multiple.

One sighting took place in Sybaris, but the person did not act in a threatening manner and was accompanied by a few friends to make videos. The other was outside Sweetland, where a person dressed as a clown was peeking in and banging on first floor windows, according to a witness who asked to stay anonymous.

To those who are worried about clowns on campus, Mike Munford has a few pieces of advice.

“Don’t panic, but stay vigilant,” Munford said. “Look at the reality: it’s Halloween and people are throwing parties on and off campus. If you see something strange, say something.”

On the Public Safety page of the SMSU website, there’s a “Silent Witness” form with which students can report incidences anonymously.

While there is nothing innately illegal about dressing up as a clown, individuals planning to do so should be aware that Public Safety will respond accordingly by looking into disruptions of campus business and hand out consequences for student misconduct.