Busch Gardens does away with severed head display

[Dieseltech20]

That just seems so excessive... just, why? What do people find entertaining about that?

I ask myself this same question whenever I turn on the TV.

Different strokes for different folks...............if we all liked the same things the world would pretty crappy. Not that it isn't pretty crappy as it is.

Some folks love horror and gore, some folks like watching celebs dance around. I prefer the former. They say the upcoming season of The Walking Dead is gonna go over the top, I cannot wait.

[TTD-120-420]

^I'm so excited for The Walking Dead!

Stephen King wrote an essay a few years ago about why we like going to horror movies. I think it can be applied to things like Haunt and Halloween Horror Nights.

"We also go to re-establish our feelings of essential normality; the horror movie is innately conservative, even reactionary. Freda Jackson as the horrible melting woman in Die, Monster, Die! confirms for us that no matter how far we may be removed from the beauty of a Robert Redford or a Diana Ross, we are still light-years from true ugliness.

And we go to have fun.

Ah, but this is where the ground starts to slope away, isn’t it? Because this is a very peculiar sort of fun, indeed. The fun comes from seeing others menaced – sometimes killed. One critic has suggested that if pro football has become the voyeur’s version of combat, then the horror film has become the modern version of the public lynching."

Full Essay can be read here:http://faculty.uml.edu/bmarshall/Lowell/whywecravehorrormovies.pdf

I didn't find Universal's show over the top. Is it for everybody? Of course not, but neither are the Call of Duty video games and plenty of people enjoy them. The key to me is that it wasn't real. Everyone knows that guy isn't really dead.

And that is the problem with KI's display. Those people in the display were real and they are really dead. That, in my opinion, is when it is too much.

[KI Guy]

We have a problem in this country of not seeing celebrities as real people. Society tends to see them as mere figures for their entertainment. Although I understand a certain amount of flack coming with the territory, at the end of the day they are just human beings like you and me. I really doubt whoever green-lighted these displays would do the same if Steve McNair was his brother or Farrah Fawcett his sister.

[Voicetek]

I think it's a good thing that they removed these displays. Just one less act of violence to have to look at. If you've read my posts on here, there really is no question of how I feel about most Halloween displays. Most make my stomach turn. I don't mind some - cats, bats, owls, spiders, spider-webs, skeletons, pumpkins, scarecrows, (some) monsters, etc. I think that's plenty enough to have great Halloween theming AND and it can be acceptable/appropriate for anyone. What I don't understand is this morbid fascination with blood, guts, severed limbs, decapitation, mutilations, torture, excessive violence, human sacrifice, and just about every other inhumane act you can think of being put on display for anyone and everyone to see.

What I don't like is even when I go to KI during the day and see some of these displays up during the "family" event going on in the park. I'm sorry, but I've never been entertained by such displays in all my life. If I want to see inhumane, violent acts, I'll just turn on the news. It's not funny, it's not fun, and it's no where near entertaining. I don't care if it's fake or not. This type of stuff is real. This type of stuff goes on all over the world. We don't like to see it in the news, so why do we want to see it at an amusement park? It's not really amusing.

And that, folks, is why I don't step foot in "Haunt" and yes, that is my decision and my decision alone. If you enjoy this type of thing, then good for. I'm not condemning anyone, I'm just trying to understand why this type of stuff excites and amuses you. For me, well, just give me a good ol' Fall festival any day of the week and I'll be happy. A nice hayride, corn maze, pumpkin patch, apple cider, hot coffee, scarecrows and the like are just the types of things I need in order to have a great Fall season. Add to that some crisp, cool air and it's even better!

[shark6495]

I would bet it's the same reason some people enjoy standing at the top of a cliff and some enjoying jumping off of it. Some enjoy flying in an airplane and some enjoy skydiving....

Some of us don't want to be near any sort of fake/real situation where a life may be in danger, and some love it.

Psychologically speaking, it's a moment (any of the previous examples) of stepping out of the safe into a, perceived, unsafe zone. While subconsciously you know you are 100% safe, it still rises your fear bits. Gets the endorphins pumping, etcetera.

Some enjoy rides with inversions and some enjoy the antique cars.

You could write a PhD thesis on the science behind fear....

[The Interpreter]

You could also write a PhD thesis about the fear of science.

[BoddaH1994]

Further adding insult to injury, when caught, the park actually denied that the Steve McNair murder-suicide scene ever existed.

I don't think they denied it. It was clearly in the WCPO story.

[Spectrum91]

^A lot of articles state otherwise.

For example, from here:

Perhaps sensing a bigger brewhaha than they'd bargained for, Kings Island spokesman Helbig told Fanhouse, "There will not be a scene at our Halloween event that features Steve McNair or anyone that resembles him."

When initially contacted, Helbig reportedly denied a McNair-themed display ever existed. "There was no reference to Steve McNair at all. No jersey, nothing," he said.

After being told that the images were already circulating online, Helbig is said to have told Fanhouse.com, "Our event does not open until Friday ... we meant him no disrespect."

[faeriewench]

Some enjoy rides with inversions and some enjoy the antique cars.

Oooh... I'll take a ride on Antique Cars over a coaster doing inversions anyday I miss the Antique Cars...

[The Interpreter]

Some miss the BMW's that appeared in 2oo5.

Terp, cross threadin'.

[faeriewench]

^I thought they were ugly

[TTD-120-420]

I'm starting to wonder where the Ebola outbreak mazes are! Keep up KI!

[APE]

People are pretty overly sensitive about these things. You can't please everyone so why try? If there are few that don't like what's going on don't put yourself in that situation and leave the many that enjoy there to enjoy it.

[The Interpreter]

Why try?

You don't. At least you don't try to please everyone but you do try not to offend some to the point they become activists opposed to your existence.

This is SeaWorld we are talking about here. After Blackfish, and their terribly botched response, they certainly don't need MORE protesters as the lead story on, say, 60 Minutes.

[APE]

It's impossible not to offend some.

[The Interpreter]

Offending is one thing. Riling them to angry protests is quite another.

[electricsun]

I don't think these decisions have anything to do with people being too sensitive or easily offended. It is being sensitive to real life triggers and social perception. Social and media perception doesn't care about intention. It is smart of parks to evaluate what is happening in the real world and adjust their displays accordingly.

People that attend events such as Haunt go because they want or expect to be scared. Those that attend the park during the day expect to see the Halloween displays but not to be terrified. Imagine trying to explain a beheaded display to a young child...or even middle schooler that is more aware of current events. When such displays mimic, intentionally or not, the very horrors we see on the news, it is a different story.

Instead of a beheaded display, what if a park wanted to do a display that created a shooter type experience. If they used adults instead of children, would that make it okay? What would be said to someone that lived through such an experience in real life that wants to attend a Haunt as an escape or way to return to things they once enjoyed? That would be a PR nightmare with the park losing regardless of what they say or do to make it right. An ounce of prevention...

[The Interpreter]

Paramount's Kings Island had that.

It was the shoot-em-up show outside Stunt Crew Grill. Complaints poured in. They were ignored. Then an unsuspecting parent of a Columbine victim came to Kings Island seeking a day to forget their loss.

A week later, the show quietly disappeared without notice.

[electricsun]

That's horrible. I thought I had read that before but wasn't sure. How did that even get approved in the first place?

Or am I just too sensitive? (I already know the answer...yes! )

[The Interpreter]

It was Paramount. The theme was a Bugsy Malone style shoot out, including the coat clad mobsters climbing the Paramount Water Tower (which, not surprisingly, youngsters then emulated) and even firing their tommy guns toward the audience.

[APE]

Yeah I'm not afraid to use things as teachable moments with my son so I wouldn't be worried he may see something bad.

[TTD-120-420]

I was thinking tonight at work about this topic and a question hit me:

Why is there no public outcry at Disney every couple minutes when they show a guy hang himself in the Haunted Mansion? Why are some things from some companies ok, but not others?

[The Interpreter]

The audience is different and it's been there a long time.

If that appeared today for the first time, it'd not last long.

Disney audiences are also more diverse and less likely to complain than are BooFest critics.

[Spectrum91]

A few notable examples of recent events or public outcry changing a theme park's Halloween event:

• In 2001, Kings Island's new The Morgue haunted house was renamed Maze of Madness following sensitivity concerns.
• Also in 2001, following 9/11, Universal Orlando axed most guts and gore, as well as replaced all blood with green slime. The original mascot of the event, a demented chainsaw-wielding maniac, was also quietly replaced.
• In 2002, the same event planned to have a creepy girl, Cindy, as its mascot. This was changed following a series of child abductions in the Orlando area.
• In 2009, Kings Island did away with a display that featured late celebrities posed in the manner of their death, including murdered football star Steve McNair. There was immense public outcry, including a tweet from Billy Mays' son, that led to the display's removal.
• In 2011, a year after the National Alliance of Mental Illness approached Cedar Point about renaming two of their haunted attractions that showed insensitivity towards people with mental illnesses (Dr. D. Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane and The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy), the park renamed both attractions (to Eternity Infirmary and The Edge of Madness: Six Feet Under, respectively)
• In 2013, Kings Dominion discontinued its Miner's Revenge after members of the public found it distasteful to those killed in mining accidents
• Also in 2013, Universal Studios Hollywood cancelled its Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure midway through the event after a Vice article criticized the show's portrayal of homosexuals. The show will not return this season, although it continues to run at Universal Studios Florida.
• In 2014, Universal Orlando removed the "Human Sacrifice" show from its Bayou of Blood scare zone. Official reason was to use the actors to fill the scare zone better, unofficial reason is that there were a multitude of guest complaints about the content of the show.

And yet another new one.

• In 2014, Universal Studios Hollywood removed the "Auctioneer" character from its Purge scare-zone after the mother of a 13-year-old girl was offended that her daughter and her friend were called "Slut 1" and "Slut 2" by a performer.

Two news stories over the event:

• InsideUniversal.net - Purge Auctioneer Removed After Controversy Surrounding Explicit Remarks
• HollywoodReporter.com - Gloria Allred Demands 'Accountability' After Universal Studios Employee Allegedly Calls Girls 'Sluts' and 'Whores

For anyone unfamiliar, the Auctioneer character played the "antoganizer" role frequently found at Halloween Horror Nights. It goes hand-in-hand with "Chucky's Insult Emporium" from last year, and as the name would suggest, the idea is to antagonize and insult the guests. Kings Island had their own version back in 2006 (Heckle & Howl) and again in 2007 (queue entertainment for Trail of Terror), although the latter was far more intense and drastically less funny than its predecessor.

[CoasterOhio]

Insensitive human beings.

[KI Guy]

Don't forget the predecessor of Heckle 'n' Howl in Scrooge at Winterfest!

[RollerNut]

Left handed apology?

As a left handed person, I take offense!

;-)

Ever posted a comment under a new article on facebook? If you disagree with popular opinion, it is like you are the devil. Society is over sensitive but tend to be insensitive to opinions other than popular opinion.

By the way, I Googled it and still dont understand....

What is a "Left handed apology"?

[SOBwasaSOB]

http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/01/offended/. My feelings on the topic. Of course, this is probably why I would make a bad business owner. If I suffered trauma from a violent experience I would not go to a haunt. Haunts are well known for depicting violent, gory, terrifying events. Instead of demanding they be watered down to match mu sensitivities I would avoid them and do something I enjoy instead. Just my two cents...

[RingMaster]

I'm starting to wonder where the Ebola outbreak mazes are! Keep up KI!

Ten bucks says that was the unofficial "theme" for Urgent Scare this season, much like Swine Flu/H1N1 was the "theme" in 2009...

All honesty, though, I can understand peoples' concerns with decorations and displays at haunt events...that are inside an amusement park. Most, if not a vast majority, of the controversies surround venues designed and built for family-friendly experiences. You can add all manner of displays and side attractions to fit whatever event/holiday is blank, but some people are still going to treat it as a family-friendly experience. I really can't bring up the argument involving separate admissions for these events, as even Busch Gardens and Halloween Horror Nights are getting flak from this.

[SOBwasaSOB]

Yea I do understand catching flak for the day decorations I suppose. As far as the haunted events go though I think beheadings are fair game..,they are quite prevelant in horror movies lol. Were these heads visible during the day? I still think it is a bit much to react the way some did and connect it with ISIS. I suppose I should reread the article...