Parents dismayed by inappropriate Halloween decorations at children’s play area

Halloween is all about giving kids a good spooky laugh, so naturally, Halloween decorations are a part of any children’s space in October.

But a children’s play space in the UK went far beyond the usual ghosts, witches and pumpkins, and its display has left many parents furious.

Parents are horrified by Halloween decorations at a children’s play area that included body bags.

Rugrats and Halfpints in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, around 100 miles west of London, is an award-winning children’s play space that includes all types of climbing structures and “soft play” spaces for children to spin, jump and, in In general, they also go crazy. as a cafeteria for parents to enjoy.

It’s a great place to let off some steam and a perfect location for a children’s birthday party, so hopefully your choice of Rugrats and Halfpints Halloween decorations will be more spooky and whimsical than something that will leave a parent “horrified.” and another doing a “double take.”

However, toward the back of a room, behind a large play structure, hang a series of body bags adorned with “caution” tape.

RELATED: ‘Concerned resident’ urges neighbor to reconsider his Halloween decorations: ‘Some of us are afraid to walk by your house’

Body bags disguised as Halloween decorations hang from a play structure and are tied with bungee cords in a way that evokes a gruesome murder.

I admit, I think today’s parents overreact about absolutely everything 99% of the time. But this “decoration” is… um… hideous? It’s not just that they’re body bags, they’re body bags tied with what appear to be bungee cords around the neck of the corpse on the inside, like a murderer would do before burying them in the woods or something.

But instead of being buried, Rugrats and Halfpints were hung from a play structure like a rack of meat. Everything seems like something out of a documentary about serial killers.

It’s creepy and macabre on a level that wouldn’t inspire a second thought in one of those haunted houses Many of us love visiting this time of year. But what is essentially a daycare playroom? Hmm…. guy? Are everyone who works there sane?

“When I saw them I was perplexed.” one mother told the UK’s Sky News. “Surely that can’t be what I think it is? I just didn’t want to have to explain to my son what they were.”

Imagine that: “Well, pumpkin, sometimes people go completely crazy and slit someone’s throat from ear to ear, then wrap them in black plastic and bury them in the local forest preserve. Now run and play!”

RELATED: A Christian group is promoting an alternative to Halloween: ‘JesusWeen,’ where people dress in white and hand out Bibles

The playground quickly apologized and removed the decorations.

It must be recognized that Rugrats and Halfpints has been understanding and accommodating with the mishap. In a statement to Sky News, a spokesperson said they had never received complaints before but were taking the matter seriously anyway.

“This is the first time anyone has brought this to our attention,” the statement said, “so of course, because of this, we will be removing them immediately. It was not to cause distress, and we apologize, this is how they did it.” . I have felt.”

Naturally, some felt the fuss was ridiculous and thought the complaining parents should calm down: people tend to taking ultimately harmless things too seriously nowadays. But another father, who said in a post That they had seen the decorations in person summed it up perfectly.

Saying that the screen reminded them of “something from an ISIS video,” they noted that there are a difference between “creepy” and “horror.” It’s hard to argue that this exhibit didn’t cross that line, and the “horror” probably doesn’t belong on the kids’ ball pit side.

Of course, the inappropriate nature of the situation also inspired some jokes – the idea of ​​having something so twisted and creepy in a children’s playground IS inherently hilarious (at least to a stranger).

One woman at X joked that Rugrats and Halfpints were “visionaries” whose decorating ideas are simply too avant-garde for parents to understand.

Hey, at least we can laugh about it! And thank our lucky stars, this happened in the UK and not the US, because if this had happened at the local Gymboree, the American parents would have already filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court in The Hague!

RELATED: Homeowner with 12-foot skeletons on his lawn redecorates after receiving letter from woman who passes by his house every day

John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer covering pop culture, social justice, and human interest.