AW HECK,they didn't mean to offend anyone. "We weren't intending for it to be distasteful..." said the spokesperson for the Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. It was just a marketing idea, recreating murder and death scenes by displaying skeletons dressed up to resemble deceased celebrities, like Michael Jackson, above.
MORE THAN JUST BAD TASTE
Misguided? Yes. Macabre and in frighteningly bad taste? Yes. Greedy? Yes, again. The amusement park thought such a display would bring in more paying customers during the Halloween season, at $27.99 per ticket. Anything to make money.
Stupid? Oh, yes indeed. Believe-it-or-not, the folks at Kings Island were proud of their idea and seemingly anticipated receiving kudos when they planned a press conference and invited the media to a preview of the displays. But, surprise! When the reporters got their eyes on the displays, they gave the amusement park plenty of free publicity inspiring numerous outraged responses. Actually, the public was so incensed and appalled that the brouhaha resulted in the park taking down the Halloween Haunt display.
DEAD CELEBS FOR HALLOWEEN
Among the dead celebs featured in the display were Charlie's Angels actress Farrah Fawcett, right, in her iconic red tank top, Heath Ledger, Wendy's founder Dave Thomas and TV product pitchman Bill Mays, reports The Cincinnati Enquirer.The skeleton depicting Sonny Bono was tied to a tree and wearing ski equipment. Cher's former singing partner and ex-husband, Bono was a U.S. Congressman when he died in 1998, after slamming into a tree while skiing.
A skeleton representing Boston Red Sox Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams was stuffed in a glass-door freezer. Williams was cryogenically frozen after his 2002 death.
"NOTHING IS OFF LIMITS!"
Although no longer displayed on the Kings Island website since the display was dismantled, a statement concerning Halloween Haunt warned, according to New York Daily News:
"Parents, be advised: Halloween Haunt includes graphic scenes, suggestive themes and intense imagery and is intended for mature audiences; not recommended for children, No one and nothing is off limits!"
MURDER/SUICIDE
Perhaps the most upsetting display, as evidenced by the number of outraged responses to AOL's Fan House, was the skeletal display of recently slain NFL quarterback Steve McNair and his dead mistress Sahel Kazemi, pictured above. The display had a skeleton sitting on a couch, wearing a No.9 jersey and holding a Tennessee Titan helmet with the top shot off and a gun lying beside his feet. Across the lap of the McNair skeleton was another skeleton wearing red lingerie, depicting Sahel Kazemi, McNair's 20-yer-old mistress who shot and killed the football star before killing herself on July 4.
Golly, don't forget the people at Kings Island say they didn't mean to offend anyone; Jeez, they weren't intending to be distasteful. And the beat goes on... even when you're dead.
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by Sharon McEachern
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