Ice cream shop forced to take down gruesome Halloween display after protests
Online backlash has led to a popular dessert shop's Halloween decorations being removed from display.
Spooky season is upon us, and with it, the last minute panic of what to wear - you'll ultimately leave it too late to buy anything and probably draw on some measly whiskers, add some ears and be a cat, or grab a pair of devil horns.
Neighbours are going head-to-head in unspoken competitions, and stores have tried to think of fresh, out-the-box, display designs, horrifying enough to entice customers, but also not so outrageous they simply scare them away.
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A popular dessert shop chain in the UK unfortunately achieved the latter and has caused so much outrage on social media, that it has taken it's decorations down.
A passerby was walking past Kaspa's Desserts on Eltham High Street, when they likely did a double-take at just how eerie and realistic the restaurant's horror display was.
The restaurant's window shows a make-shift body bag, made from bin bags and tape, with a knife lying next to it, alongside fake blood and crime scene tape.
The passerby swiftly took to Twitter to share their outrage at the gruesome design: "Highly inappropriate Halloween window display if you ask me, children see this on their way to school, wtf!"
And other users were quick to call out the restaurant too.
One user tagged Kaspa's Desserts on the platform and questioned: "Who's bright idea was this?"
"Why not the old classics of carved pumpkins, ghosts and witches? Why a display that's so graphically violent? Not a scene I would wish to see going about my business, I must say," another added.
A third agreed: "To be fair that is rather graphic and I think children are becoming desensitised to killings and that’s very disturbing."
A final resolved: "Considering knife crime the way it is, this is in poor taste, victims family members seeing that etc."
The backlash the display caused online also led to the head of the Ben Kinsella Trust - an anti-knife crime charity - Patrick Green, to speak out against the restaurant.
He said: "This display is insensitive and is likely to cause distress to anyone who has been affected by knife crime."
Two councillors from the local area later called for its removal, stating their 'disappoint[ment]' with the '[un]family-friendly' display, as per the Sun.
Kaspa's has since taken down the display and apologised for its 'poor taste' as well as 'any distress that it’s caused'.
A spokesperson from Kaspa's told LADbible: "This was, in hindsight, in poor taste. We immediately had the display removed and apologised for any destress the stores actions caused.
"We have taken steps to ensure that our franchisees are aware of the role they play in their local communities and to ensure that any activity is both relevant and suitable for the audience."
Topics: Halloween, UK News, Twitter, Social Media, Viral
Poppy Bilderbeck