After a local actor decided to improvise, the scares outside a recent haunted house got a little too real. A 22-year-old actor working at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds had been entrusted with scaring the kids as they walked into the haunted house attraction. To accomplish this task, he’d been given access to fake prop knives; instead, however, the actor elected to bring from home an actual Bowie-style knife.

When a boy and his friend approached the haunted house, the actor, who’d been dragging the knife along the ground in menacing fashion, began stabbing the ground near the boy’s feet in an attempt to scare him. Unfortunately, one of those stabbing motions cut through the boy’s shoe, leaving cuts on his toe. Authorities were called, along with the boy’s mother.

After his wound was treated, the boy elected to continue with his visit to the haunted house, with mother and friend in tow. The actor acknowledged that bringing his real knife from home was a poor choice. Police ended up confiscating the knife as evidence. Eventually the actor’s mother contacted police, wanting the knife back; they told her the knife would be released if there were no charges filed against her son.

Possible Preaching Angles:

Immaturity and thoughtless behavior can cause harm to others. There is always a need for mature oversight, even in a “fun” atmosphere.