CENTRALIA. — The Centralia Police Department was searching for a creepy clown reported driving around town Friday night, joining a growing number of communities across the country with similar sightings.

The Granite City Police Department announced on its Facebook page Wednesday that it has received multiple calls from people who claim they have seen creepy clowns. 

The police believe it is a group of people going around the city trying to scare people.  Many other communities around the country have had similar problems with people dressing up as clowns in order to scare others.

Creepy clown sightings have also become a trend nationwide, as multiple communities have reported the same behavior, prompting local police departments to investigate the cases. Since last summer, scary clown sightings have been reported from the Georgia all the way to Green Bay, Wisconsin.