A number of vague creepy clown threats have popped up on social media lately across Connecticut. They were followed by several arrests.

The trend in Connecticut and elsewhere in the country has some on edge, but many threats have already been ruled not credible by local police departments and officials. Clown impact carried into Thursday. State Police warned would-be clown pranksters that there could be criminal consequences to their actions.

Three teens were arrested by Ansonia Police in connection with social media threats. Arrests were also made in Naugatuck and Beacon Falls. Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford will have an increased police presence throughout the day after a specific threat to the school.



"It's the scary version of the ridiculous headlines you all saw a few months ago saying some A-list celebrity was moving to your town," Middletown Mayor Dan Drew said about rumors of creepy clowns in his town. "I kept seeing headlines saying Bill Murray was moving to Middletown and that Brad Pitt was moving to Meriden, but it isn't true." Rumors prompted hundreds of UConn students to leave their dormitories in search of the creepy clowns. Some were armed with golf clubs and hockey sticks.

A rumor spread that Quinnipiac University in Hamden was on lockdown Monday night, but the school tweeted that everything was running normally. Public safety received several reports about a clown but found nothing upon investigation, according to the Hartford Courant.

Have an iPhone or iPad? Download the New Patch App New Haven Public School and police officials investigated clown-related Instagram posts.