Busch Gardens removed some props from their Halloween attractions after people in Virginia complained about decapitated heads, the theme park said Thursday. The change came in the wake of the beheadings of two American journalists and a British aid worker.
Spokesmen for parks in Virginia and Tampa said that in light of recent events, some props may have had the unintended consequence of appearing insensitive and won't be part of this year's Howl-O-Scream attraction. They wouldn't say exactly which props were removed. "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," wrote Busch Gardens Tampa spokesman Travis Claytor. Complaints cropped up recently in Williamsburg when the Virginia Gazette newspaper ran a photo of five severed head props that were part of the attraction. The props were part of the Cut Throat Cove attraction, the paper said. A video of Cut Throat Cove on the Virginia' park's website showed a pirate-themed haunted house with body parts and heads.
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-- The Associated Press