I had reoccurring dreams when I was 4 or 5 years old, about a creepy clown with a knife, and in every dream I was in a different place and the clown was some distance away from me, always a adult was near me (usually my mom) and the clown kept getting closer to me in every dream, but when I told the adult near me about it in the dream and the adult looked at the clown, the clown stopped moving, and when the adult stopped looking the clown came closer to me, and in every dream that the clown finally got close enough to me, the dream ended.
This dream could represent a fear or anxiety that you had as a child that was steadily growing worse over time. The clown, a common symbol for fear and uncertainty, represents this anxiety as it slowly encroaches on you. Your mother or another adult figure in your dreams represents a sense of safety or protection, yet the fact that the clown always manages to get closer when they are not looking suggests that this fear is overwhelming and difficult to control. It's possible that this dream could reflect a childhood fear that still resonates with you today, or it could simply be an indication that you were going through a stressful or uncertain period in your life at the time. Either way, it's important to recognize and acknowledge these fears in order to overcome them and move forward.