From Clown Sighting App To Costume Bans, Creepy Clown Craze Impacting How LA Celebrates

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — From a clown sighting app to costume bans, the creepy clown craze that's sweeping the nation is having a direct impact in Southern California.

In fact, the Los Angeles Unified School District has implemented a ban on clown costumes, as have some schools outside of the district.

This week, the LAUSD sent an advisory that said in part:

"For the safety of all students, employees, and visitors, no clown costumes are to be worn on any District property."

But schools aren't the only entity banning clown costumes.

The Haunted Hayride in Griffith Park also indicated that clown costumes will not be allowed on their property this year, and Target stores recently said "no" to clown costume sales.

This comes as killer clown fears continue to sweep the nation with the most recent threat in San Diego, where a man told police he was stabbed by four people in clown costumes.

Corbin Smart, an 18-year-old UCLA student, has even developed the near-ready app Clown Hunt.

"With the app that I've created, there's a map so that you can see where clowns are, you can avoid those areas, and you can kind of be aware of your surroundings," he said.

Much of the clown paranoia is coming from social media where photos and videos of unconfirmed sightings have been circulating.

In the valley, video of students from California State University, Northridge recently surfaced that showed a group running away from a reported clown.

Out of Wisconsin, footage showed a pair in costume people said were chasing cars.

And in Santa Clarita, earlier this month, there was a report of a person wearing a clown costume carrying a machete, and threatening a homeowner.