http://abc7.com/1530097/
A popular Halloween attraction at Knott's Berry Farm and California's Great America was shutting down, officials announced Wednesday, after some took to social media calling the display "offensive" to those suffering from mental illness.
The virtual reality attraction, which essentially focuses on a story line about a possessed patient running wild in a hospital, consists of strapping parkgoers into a chair before they are given VR goggles. If the game becomes too intense for them, customers can press the "panic button."
Mental health advocates speaking out included Rob Thomas, the father of homeless man Kelly Thomas, who had schizophrenia and died in a violent confrontation with Fullerton police in 2011.
Rob Thomas said the attraction stigmatized mental illness.
"You get in there and get the virtual reality set on, you know you're in an insane asylum, and that this Katie, this patient, is loose and is going to do bad things to you. It's wrong," he said. "The mentally ill are people. They're human beings. They're suffering. They have illnesses, and we have to do something to help them - not demonize them. Not to continue the stigma of mental illness."
Asylums are a staple of this industry. Will people start targeting smaller haunts next?
A popular Halloween attraction at Knott's Berry Farm and California's Great America was shutting down, officials announced Wednesday, after some took to social media calling the display "offensive" to those suffering from mental illness.
The virtual reality attraction, which essentially focuses on a story line about a possessed patient running wild in a hospital, consists of strapping parkgoers into a chair before they are given VR goggles. If the game becomes too intense for them, customers can press the "panic button."
Mental health advocates speaking out included Rob Thomas, the father of homeless man Kelly Thomas, who had schizophrenia and died in a violent confrontation with Fullerton police in 2011.
Rob Thomas said the attraction stigmatized mental illness.
"You get in there and get the virtual reality set on, you know you're in an insane asylum, and that this Katie, this patient, is loose and is going to do bad things to you. It's wrong," he said. "The mentally ill are people. They're human beings. They're suffering. They have illnesses, and we have to do something to help them - not demonize them. Not to continue the stigma of mental illness."
Asylums are a staple of this industry. Will people start targeting smaller haunts next?
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