If you see a clown, or anybody else suspicious, call the police, says the letter from Fleetwood Manor.

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One resident initially didn't buy into the creepy clown stories

CNN  — 

It’s like a scene straight out of Stephen King’s “It.”

Young kids. A creepy clown. And everybody’s freaking out.

Children at the Fleetwood Manor Apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, say someone dressed as a clown is hanging out behind the basketball courts there, trying to lure kids into the woods.

The apartment complex took it seriously enough to put out a letter to its residents, acknowledging the complaints from parents and their children, and telling them to call the police if they see something – or someone – suspicious. The person apparently is dressed in a clown costume, with a painted face and possibly using laser lights.

One resident didn’t believe at first.

Are clowns really running amok in the small South Carolina city, or are kids’ imaginations taking them for a ride?

Gulp.

Not just Greenville

Greenville’s not the only place that’s had clown sightings. A couple of years ago in Bakersfield, California, police got around 20 calls on clowns, including one about someone in a clown suit brandishing a weapon. And in the small California town of Wasco, there were sightings of a clown all over the place, but that turned out to be part of a photography project started by a husband and wife.

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The creepy clown stalking California
02:11 - Source: CNN

And, just in case you were wondering, coulrophobia is the formal term for the fear of clowns.

Fleetwood Manor didn’t return a call for comment.