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She was told to "Keep Out."
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Oct 27, 2022
As Halloween draws nearer, more decorations continue to be hung in celebration of the holiday’s approach, much to one woman in London’s disdain.
After an embarrassing incident at a local establishment, she called for the banning of Halloween decorations all over the country during a rant about the problems they cause.
The woman fell for a ‘Keep Out’ sign in front of the bathroom thinking it was out of order.
Considering “Keep Out” is a classic Halloween decoration and slogan, it’s hard to believe that she would make that kind of blunder, even if it was placed on the door to the bathroom.
In her confusion, she likely chose not to use the bathroom and grew embarrassed after discovering that they weren’t actually out of order and she just misunderstood.
As a result of her embarrassment, she chose to leave the establishment prematurely and posted about it in the popular neighborhood group Nextdoor, via My London News.
"Think that Halloween decorations should be banned," she wrote. "I ended up leaving this establishment because I got confused as to if these toilets were out of service and no entry."
“How are people expected to be able to know what’s opened and closed when big KEEP OUT signs on everything."
Understandably, she was upset because she stopped herself from using the restroom when she didn’t have to, but many were amused by the idea that she would call for a ban on Halloween decorations because of it.
On the other hand, some people agreed with the woman and believed that she makes a good point about how appropriate these decorations may be.
People had a lot to say about the proposed ban on Halloween decorations.
“You raise a very valid point and I also think that a discussion should be had around the appropriateness of very spooky decorations which may be very distressing [to] the members of our community who need safeguarding such as children pets and those with additional needs," they wrote.
An argument similar to this one is the battle over fireworks and how they affect pets, small children, and those who suffer from PTSD that could be triggered by the explosions.
Although Halloween decorations aren’t exploding in the air and causing bright flashes of light, they can still elicit unfavorable reactions from similar groups, and some are going as far as to say that costumes should be banned as well.
“I think that Halloween decorations and fancy dress should be banned,” another person wrote.“If you’re walking alone at night it can be scary and not obvious if things are real or just Halloween 'fun'. I’ve also had fancy dressers yell boo at me on the street. V distressing.”
However, just because someone is scared of something, doesn’t mean it warrants a nationwide ban — many others disagreed with the idea of banning these things.
“Hmmm hasn’t Halloween been celebrated for quite a while,” they wrote. “Blimey I’m more worried about [being] mugged or sexually assaulted. Just saying……”
Another person added “Seriously is this for real! You can see that the tape is kind of fake! Looks like something from the pound shop! And [because] of this you want it banned!”
It’s safe to say that Halloween won’t be going anywhere, any time soon, but establishments would probably do better to leave “Keep Out” signs off the bathroom door for people who are none the wiser.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.