The first story of a clown sighting came out of Greenville, South Carolina, at the end of August. The children in South Carolina who spotted the clown said it was offering them money to follow it into the woods. Another woman in the same area said she spotted a clown illuminated under a streetlight that waved to her.

In the ensuing month, other sightings have been reported in Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and New Jersey — and the sightings have been moving westward.

Just a little over a month after the initial sighting, Union County can be added to the list — allegedly.

Two clown sightings were reported to Union County dispatch this week. One was reported Monday night in La Grande. The other report came in from Imbler Tuesday morning. Both times, the police were unable to locate a clown.

“The clown-dressed person was with two normally-dressed people,” said LGPD Lt. Derick Reddington of the call from Monday night.

The caller said the clown went into a residence but did not give an address. The officers checked the area and could not locate the clown, and there were no other calls regarding the clown that night, Reddington said.

Police said a second call came in to dispatch Tuesday morning saying someone saw a clown in the Imbler school area at about 7 a.m.

“A (Union County Sheriff’s) deputy was fairly close by and was on top of it, but couldn’t find anything,” Reddington said. “I’m not saying this hasn’t happened. We just haven’t seen it ourselves.”

The local sightings don’t hold a candle to the sightings across the nation as more and more people report clowns trying to lure children into the woods or into homes.

At least 10 states have stories of “creepy clowns” sighted, including Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

This isn’t a new situation, though. Clown sightings have been reported as long ago as 1981, according to a news article from The Washington Post. Back then, Massachusetts elementary school students warned their principal about menacing clowns in a black van.

But the 2016 strain of clowns is a particularly virulent one, with the season’s sightings spreading from Greenville to North Carolina and to southern states like Kentucky and Alabama before sweeping across the rest of the country.

Stephen King, author of the novel “IT,” about a killer clown, took to Twitter recently, telling his followers that it’s “time to cool the clown hysteria.”

“Most of ’em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh,” his tweet said.

Many people across the country would disagree.

In Hermiston, police arrested a middle schooler Thursday afternoon for making online threats, doing so using a clown as his profile picture on social media, according to a story in The Oregonian.

“We have no information of any past problems with this student and we believe this unfortunate decision to be an isolated incident spurred by the national phenomenon taking place,” Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston wrote in a statement.

The 12-year-old boy, who was not named, was tracked down for allegedly threatening gun violence online by the Sandstone Middle School resource officer, who learned about the social media posts at 9 a.m., police said. He has been charged with disorderly conduct.

This was the fourth clown-related arrest reported in Oregon a 24-hour period, according to The Oregonian.

Earlier in the week, Hermiston police took to Facebook to warn, albeit sarcastically, that those who dress as clowns and cause public alarm may be committing a crime.

“You have an absolute right to dress however you’d like and we support that,” the Hermiston Police Department wrote on its Facebook page. “You can dress like a clown or ballerina if that suits your tastes. While we don’t encourage it, you’re even free to wear that ugly sweater your aunt knitted for your birthday in 1993. That being said, if you’re engaging in conduct that causes public alarm, like wearing a clown suit and acting weird to intentionally scare people, you may be committing a crime. Clown mug shots are not flattering.”

Despite the potential comic relief, the clown sightings are causing anxiety and frustration for others.

One middle school student in Georgia brought a knife to school to protect herself against clown attacks, according to a Boston newspaper.

Oregon State University students allegedly went on a “clown hunt” on campus, according to The Oregonian.

Despite the calls to police, unless the clowns are causing public alarm, they’re not breaking any laws.

“People wearing clown suits, there’s really no criminal element to that,” Reddington said.

And with Halloween coming up, there is a likelihood residents will see more and more clowns.

“I can only guess a clown costume will become more prevalent,” he said. “Keep in mind, if you see something suspicious, give us a call and our guys will check it out.”