The townspeople of the English town, Northampton have reported strange sightings of a clown, which has been photographed prowling the streets, sometimes holding balloons, sometimes stuffed toys.

Sometimes he just stands in corners staring ominously at passersby. Mostly at night.

Sightings of the sinister-looking clown has terrified several of the residents.

Recently dubbed the Northampton Clown, the mysterious costumed man has remained anonymous, despite having already responded to interviews. He has since made it clear that he is harmless-he has not attacked, threatened, or harassed anyone-and says that he had only intended to be amusing.

"Most people enjoy being a bit freaked out and then they can laugh about it afterwards," the Northampton Clown said. "It's like watching a horror movie, when people get scared they usually start laughing."

Several townspeople have expressed feelings of terror, especially when crossing paths with the clown at night. "I'd probably run away," a man said when asked about what his reaction would be if he encountered the clown, "he's got quite a mean face on him."

"Naturally, some people would have been extremely frightened by what they saw, but I hope many are starting to see it as a bit of harmless fun," the clown has said as response to terrified reactions. In fact, some townspeople have even stopped to pose for photographs with the creepy clown, most likely after getting over their initial fears of him.

A Facebook page called "Spot The Northampton Clown" has been set up last Friday the 13^th, where a person claiming to be the Northampton clown has been posting pictures of the clown at different spots in the city.

Trivia: Fear of clowns is called Coulrophobia. People who are deathly afraid of clowns are then called coulrophobes.

The widespread fear of clowns has come to public attention after the 1990 film adapted from the Stephen King novel It, wherein a monster disguised as perhaps one of the most terrifying clowns of all time lures and abducts children.

In 1981, Boston flew into a similarly clown-related panic after a van full of kidnappers dressed as clowns, reportedly prowled the city abducting children.

Coulrophobes who are currently living in terror of the Northampton Clown need not fear though; a blue-clad, artificially-muscled, bespectacled superhero has emerged, calling himself Boris the Clown Catcher and dedicating his time to search and capture the notorious clown.

One thing is for certain: It's not going to be a bore in Northampton in the next few weeks.