The evil clown rumor has reached epidemic proportions, spreading from coast to coast, and even leading to a teen claiming he was cut by a knife-wielding clown in neighboring Coffee County.“The rumor got started, it hit social media and snowballed, and now it’s taken a life of its own,” said McMinnville Police Chief Bryan Denton, saying city police answered three clown-sighting calls over the past week but found nothing. “We haven’t found any mischief or anything illegal having to do with clowns.”Sheriff Jackie Matheny said the county has also fielded a few clown-sighting calls but was not able to substantiate any of them.“If clowns were there, they were gone by the time our officers got there,” the sheriff said. “It’s become rampant all over the county.”Sheriff’s Capt. Bo Ramsey suggested the sightings began around the country when it was announced a new movie of Stephen King’s “It” is under production.