Worried about creepy clowns? There's an app for that

The social media-fuelled phenomenon of creepy clowns has inspired a group of Montreal students to invent an app entirely devoted to sightings of clowns.

The frenzy dates back to early August when reports of creepy clown sightings first started in several U.S. states before becoming popular in Canada.

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Some are harmless encounters but there have also been more serious reports, like in Gatineau, where a group of teenagers dressed up as clowns chased a group of kids home from the park.

That's where Clown Spotter, a new app available for Android and Apple smartphones, comes in.

"We as a team said we have to do something about it," Saleem Usama, a John Abbott College student and developer of the app, told CBC Montreal's Homerun.

Clown Spotter allows Montrealers to both report clown sightings and keep up to date on recent glimpses of clowns in and around the city.

"There is a demand for it," Usama said. "It's a really serious thing that's happening."

All users have to do is open the app and a map of the city will show up with locators of recent clown sightings.

It also extends to the U.S., so users can see where clowns have been popping up.

Usama said the app will be especially useful once Halloween arrives so that parents and children can avoid creepy clowns.

"To us it might be funny," he said.

"To all the parents who have their kids going out trick or treating for example, it can be a really big threat."