Watch: Random Clown Sightings Are Happening in the US Forcing Police to Get Involved

Clown sightings have been reported across the US since August 24 when the following note was delivered to residents in Greenville, South Carolina.

They were warned people dressed as clowns were trying to lure children into the woods. A curfew was introduced and from there the stories multiplied.

Clowns were spotted in at least 16 states, including Pennsylvania, New York, North and South Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Georgia.

Photo / Facebook

Most are dismissed as fakes or hoaxes, but the latest encounter, complete with mobile phone footage, has been shared hundreds of thousands of times. In all, it's been viewed more than 22 million times.

Either people believe it's real, or they want to be scared. You can make up your own mind after watching the video below (warning: explicit language).

The video was shared on October 2 by Chase Prior, a university student from Ohio. In a post that has since gone viral, Prior calls his run-in with a jumpsuit-wearing children's entertainer "a rather traumatising experience".

After some investigation, we've now found a follow up video on Prior's Facebook page, revealing what many had assumed: it was all a hoax.

Bad taste? Yeah, probably.

The pair claimed they didn't realise the video would blow up that much and have issued an apology:

Folklorist Benjamin Radford told People Magazine that 2016's 'clown panic' will die down in a few weeks but it will be back.

He said the appeal of being a stalker - a creepy clown - is simple but it's also a "low-risk, high-reward stunt, because it's virtually guaranteed to make local or national news".

He said until there was an actual attack, the sightings should be looked upon with a degree of cynicism.

"The fact is, to date, there are no confirmed reports of any clowns actually abducting, harming, killing (or) molesting kids. There just aren't. There are zero."