Penn State University students form clown-hunting mob

The entire "creepy clown" sighting epidemic sweeping across the U.S. started in August when a little boy, living in a low-income apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, spotted two clowns in the woods nearby.

Reports of such sightings soon spread, first to the other side of Greenville, then to lower South Carolina, and eventually to North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Evidently, creepy clowns have made their way across the Atlantic Ocean as reports of sightings have started emerging in the UK.

There have been several sightings in the UK, as well as several arrests made.

Reports have been coming in from several parts of the UK, from North Wales to Durham County to Essex to Sheffield to Newcastle to Manchester.

The paranoia about creepy clowns has also spread to Australia.

Social media groups have sprung up in Australia in anticipation of creepy clown sightings.

Police in several parts of Australia have also warned people about such sightings, stating that "any intimidating and threatening as well as anti-social behaviours will not be tolerated and will be investigated by Police".

The sinister creepy clown sightings are widely acknowledged by authorities to be pranks.

In another recent development, a video emerged on the internet about a creepy clown in the US being bashed by a man with a baseball bat and beaten by his companions.

The clown apparently tried to scare the man and his friends, but the plan evidently backfired.

In the most recent development in the creepy clown sightings in the US, footage has emerged of a mob of Pennsylvania State University students who have embarked on a hunt for three clowns spotted in the area.

With civilians forming such vigilante groups, is the creepy clown prank finally backfiring?