Thursday, October 17, 2013

'It's making children cry'

"A Halloween fan who put up a gruesome display of 'disembowelled corpses' outside his home has been asked by police to tone it down.
James Creighton, 25, was told that his scene was making children cry with its macabre reconstruction of a scene from The Texas Chainshaw Massacre.

Mr Creighton said: 'I can't believe it to be honest. I can't see what I've done wrong.'
The decorations were assembled outside the front of his home at the start of the month to support Cancer Research UK.
[O]n Tuesday, Mr Creighton received a visit from two police officers who asked that he make the set 'less frightening'.

An angry parent complained to police that the gruesome display was reducing children to tears
 
An angry parent complained to police that the gruesome display was reducing children to tears
'When the police turned up I don't think they knew what to say,' he said. 'They told me there had been a complaint and that I needed to "tone it down" by taking some decorations down.
'I'm told someone walks by with young children and they are crying every time they see it.
'The police told me they want me to put a black tarpaulin across the bottom of the fence so children can't see it, but it spoils it for everyone else then."

MailOnline

13 comments:

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

It would be nice if the 'angry parent' could have a nice neighborly conversation with the man ("Hi, I'm so and so, your neighbor from across the way; I'm sorry to be a bother but I was hoping you could help me with something--your display is very creative but it really bothers my son and there is no other route to walk to school [assuming this was the case], so I was hoping you might be willing to consider taking it down a notch?") instead of calling the police like a wussy.

I really dislike the 'Imma report you to the hall monitor' mentality. People need to man up and communicate like adults.

sakredkow said...

It's tasteless. But those of us who think so lost that battle long ago.

The Dude said...

I'll tell you what is tasteless and truly scary - a 17 trillion dollar, and rising with no end in sight, deficit.

Synova said...

Because small children really need that vision In Their Brains.

And inconveniencing Adult Freedom is just so very wrong.

Synova said...

I do agree with you, Pants.

Except that the conversation should go like this.

CP (Concerned Parent): Little kids don't need that vision in their brains. There's a reason that kids are excluded from violent, bloody, movies. At least put up a sheet on your fence so that the little ones who are too short to see over it are protected.

HD (Halloween Decorator): Fock off, it's Halloween, prick face.

CP: Take down the bloody corpses or I'm taking my fist to your face until you can use yourself for a display instead, prick face.

chickelit said...

Neighborly shaming sometimes works. The first year we moved in our neighborhood, I took my oldest trick or treating. He was about 2 or 3 and I was trying to get him to go to the door alone while I lagged behind watching. Everything went well until we came to one house with a yard light on. My son approached the door. Too late, I noticed a man sitting in the shadows, motionless. His shtick was to suddenly "come alive" and scare the kids. My son turned right around and ran back to me, crying. A woman's voice, obviously from a neighbor or wife watching from next door called out: "Now you did it Ralph...are you proud of that?"

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
XRay said...

Anything goes. No class, no decorum, no limits. How dare you question my creativity.

chickelit said...

Ever since I watched "To Kill A Mockingbird" I've understood that Halloween should be for kids and evil should be for adults.

The Dude said...

Synova, you cannot assault someone on their own property after exchanging a few words with them - if you did they could justifiably shoot you to death.

He would simply have to claim that they feared for his life and the jury would look at the facts - guy puts up display, woman objects, they have words, she punches him, he thinks she's going to kill him, he kills her. He walks. She's still dead.

I would think that there might be a better way to handle the whole situation.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Sixty - this is the UK. No guns.
High probability of a hot-headed/punk type as neighbor. I think she nailed it.

The Dude said...

My mistake - I thought that occurred in a civilized place.

In that case, slap on a veil, ululate and go jihad on their ass - the police won't even book you.

ken in tx said...

UK = Fut-boll thugs + Muslims + wimps. Guess who loses?