Clowns. They’re everywhere. (Photo: Kevin Utting/CC BY 2.0)

America’s sinister clown trend has spread to Australia. According to the Telegraph, sightings of creepy clowns are on the rise around the country, and more are promising to rear their colorful heads.

Much ink has been spilled over the rise in clown sightings across America recently, as pranksters and creeps have taken to dressing as clowns, as if it’s their duty to promote the upcoming remake of Stephen King’s It. Now the trend is appearing in parts of Australia.

A number of “clown groups” have begun to appear across Australian social media, promising that the number of clown sightings in the country would soon increase. The group, Clown Nation Perth posted a message on their Facebook page saying, “You will start seeing clown sightings soon. We have been preparing for a while now.” What is being prepared is unclear, but probably clown stuff.

Police in places like Victoria, are responding in kind, issuing statements to reiterate that anti-social and alarming behavior will not be tolerated. Some have simply asked that people stop “clowning around.”

The trend is mostly harmless, save for some unsubstantiated threats from some American creepy clowns, but people seem hell bent on being afraid of the trend, and clowns, nonetheless.