So it’s nearly that time of year again where we all dress up like goons and parade for candy. Sadly though not everyone’s Halloween turns out to be all fun and games, sometimes it can go horribly wrong. Here are 5 Halloween tragedies mistaken for pranks.
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Haunted House Hit and Run
Back in 1997 on October 24 in East Granby Connecticut a middle aged woman was hit by a passing car and left for dead out the front of a Halloween Haunted House attraction.
40 year old Kimberly Kitrinos lay badly injured on the side of the road as passer byers assumed she was part of the Halloween attraction. One witness claims he saw Kitrinos lying prone on the ground reaching up for help. Some hours later an ambulance took Kitrinos to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Teen Dressed as Zombie Killed in Corn Field
On the 10th of October 2014 in Kootenai County, Northern Idaho a teenager dressed as a zombie was crushed to death while working in a local Halloween attraction.
The accident happened Friday evening as patrons rode the Zombie Slayer Paintball Bus. The modified school bus was kitted with paintball guns designed to shoot attendants dressed as zombies as they lurched out of the corn fields.
It was during one round of role-play that 18 year old Jeremy T. McSpadden Jnr was caught under the rear wheel of the bus. Many believed that it was all part of the show until the attendants began resetting the scene for the next round of patrons when they discovered the crushed teen’s body.
Halloween Hanging Thought to be Decoration
In 2005 in Frederica, Delaware a woman committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree. The body went unreported for hours as many onlookers assumed it was a Halloween decoration.
The 42 year old woman used rope to hang herself across the road from many homes. Her body hung about 4 metres above ground and could be easily spotted by passing cars. But because of the time of year many witnesses took no notice, dismissing it as a holiday prank.
Decomposing Body Thought to be Halloween Display
Back in 2009 the body of 75 year old Mostafa Mahmoud Zayed was left decomposing on a balcony for nearly a week before authorities were called.
The body was slumped over a chair on a third-floor balcony in a Los Angeles apartment with a single gunshot wound to the eye. According to cameraman Austin Raishbrook who attended the scene, the body was in plain view of the entire apartment block but no one raised the alarm as they thought it was a ‘Halloween Dummy’.
The Los Angeles Country Sheriff’s Department treated the death as suicide.
Postman Ignores Corpse and Delivers Mail
On November 2, 2012 a postman in Denver delivered mail over a slumped body as he believed it to be a Halloween display.
46 year old Dale Porch collapsed and died at his front door as he returned from night shift at the Regional Transportation Discrict in Denver. Later that morning the mailman delivered mail, ignoring the body of Dale Porch thinking it was a Halloween prank.
Porch’s family were furious that the carrier didn’t alert authorities. It’s unknown whether Porch could have been revived had an ambulance been called.
The U.S. Postal Service released a statement saying that the worker was extremely upset and shocked when told of the incident, maintaining that he was a ‘conscientious and dedicated’ person that ‘would certainly help a customer if he knew they were in need.’
