Busch Gardens Williamsburg removes severed head display
Quote:
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — Busch Gardens Williamsburg has removed some of its Howl-O-Scream displays after complaints from park guests that headless figures were reminiscent of the recent ISIS beheadings.
Park officials said in a statement Wednesday that the Halloween-themed displays are sometimes graphic, but they’re fictional and not intended to provide commentary on world events. But in the court of public opinion, views are mixed.
“That’s not … consistent with the Halloween spirit at all,” said Hartley Bond, who took notice when the image of severed heads made its way into a local paper.
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The full statement from Busch Gardens is as follows:
Quote:
Many of the scenes depicted at Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream are graphic in nature, but they are fictional and are not intended to provide commentary on current world events. The props in this year’s event were designed and purchased several months ago. In light of recent events, some of these props have the unintended consequence of appearing insensitive and are being removed. Busch Gardens apologizes for any offense they may have caused.
While severed heads are pretty much a Halloween staple (albeit on a platter usually), it was smart of them to remove the display. They really should have removed it when ISIS first started doing this though