U.S. businesses that create and sell Halloween-themed products are rethinking their strategy in a country currently experiencing a frightening “creepy clown” phenomenon.
The new “Scary Peeper Creeper” Halloween decoration takes a frightening reality too far, according to one Canadian mom — and big box retailer Home Depot has whisked it off the shelves, at least in Canada.
“Whatever happened to carving a scary face into a pumpkin?” asked one mom.
Breanne Hunt Wells told CBC Radio she was unnerved after seeing the Halloween decoration — meant to hang in the window — for sale at a Home Depot in Markham, Ontario, The Washington Post reported.
The mother of two told the radio program the Halloween decoration downplayed voyeurism.
Indeed, the narrowed eyes, cupped hands, and hooded head on the “decoration” could scare the toughest child — or adult.
“Can you imagine if a dad didn’t know it was a decoration and ran and got his gun to protect his family?” one Lexington, Massachusetts, father of two asked. “I think it’s what I’d do if I saw that thing!”
The description for the product on Home Depot’s website reads, in part: “Realistic face looks just like a real man is peering through the window at you.”
Home Depot told CBC News on Monday it would pull the Scary Peeper Creeper from its stores. Later, another Home Depot spokesman clarified that the product would be removed from their stores in Canada, as The Post reported. The product is still available in the U.S., with a price tag of $29.98.
In a similar scenario, video game creator Scott Cawthon is delaying the pre-Halloween release of his new “kid-friendly” game about murderous electronic animals, “Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location.” He is worried the game is too dark for kids.
Related: Clown Hysteria is Bad (or Good?) for Business
“I wanted to post an announcement that this game might be postponed, and I’m not really sure when it [will] be released,” he said in a statement on Steam.
“There are certain plot elements that are very dark, to the point where I sometimes feel sick,” Cawthon continued. “There would be no easy fix to this. I either release it Friday as it is, or I delay it by several months to completely rework the plot into something kid-friendly.”
Parents are on edge after “creepy clowns” have made appearances in multiple locations around the U.S.
One Boston-area mother of four children, Mary Donaghey, told LifeZette, “Enough is enough. We should talk with our wallets. Seeking to make a buck on images so frightening they make even adults shudder should be punished. Ever since the creepy clown [phenomenon], scaring people is no longer ‘fun and games.’ Whatever happened to carving a scary face into a pumpkin?”
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.