Halloween is right around the corner, but you may want to think twice before dressing as a clown this year.

Some schools, including Sacred Heart University, are asking students to find different costumes because of the number of disturbing clown sightings that have been reported across the country this year. University administrators say students could be disciplined by the school and charged with a crime for dressing as a clown.

Police say Harding High School in Bridgeport went into a self-imposed lockout after reports of a clown sighting at the school. The say they did not find any clowns.

Connecticut State Police also responded to a clown sighting at Bullard Havens High School but found nothing.

"There is nothing to it, kids have been scared from clowns for a long time, not just today or yesterday," says Bridgeport resident and clown Joe Barney. "We work hard to make kids smile."

A clown sighting was reported on Quinnipiac University Monday, but the school tweeted that the campus is secure.

New Haven is investigating a series of pictures that were posted online with the caption "watch out" and "wait and see" which schools they would visit.