Busch Gardens has removed headless exhibits like this one from this year's Halloween line-up . Theme parks Busch Gardens had to remove headless props from their Halloween attractions after complaints that the decapitated heads on display reminded them of the beheadings by terrorist group ISIS. The change came in the wake of the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Islamic state militants recently released . three videos showing each of the brutal acts. Spokesmen . for Busch Gardens in Virginia and Tampa said that in light of the events, . some props may have had the unintended consequence of appearing . insensitive and won't be part of this year's Howl-O-Scream attraction. 'Many . of the scenes depicted at Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream are graphic in . nature, but they are fictional and are not intended to provide . commentary on current world events,' spokesman . Travis Claytor wrote. 'The props in this year's event were designed and . purchased several months ago.' Complaints . cropped up recently in Williamsburg when the Virginia Gazette newspaper . ran a photo of five severed head props that were part of the . attraction. The props were part of the Cut Throat Cove attraction, which showed a pirate-themed haunted house with body parts and heads. 'Within this macabre market, the pirates . have been slaughtered and mutiny is afoot,' the description on the . website reads. 'The way out lies with the buried treasure and the . blood-curdling screams you hear just might be your own.' Decorations like this one at Busch Gardens has drawn criticism from some parkgoers who say it's too gruesome in light of the latest ISIS beheadings . The removed props were a part of the park's yearly Howl-O-Scream attraction . The attraction rubbed some parkgoers the wrong way. 'That’s not … consistent with the Halloween spirit at all,' parkgoe rHartley Bond  told WAVY. 'I think it was good that they pulled it. It was out of order and insensitive to public sentiment. So, I’m glad they responded.' Some, like patron Norman England, disagreed. 'It’s Halloween. I would not associate one with the other, you know?' he told WAVY. 'That’s how I feel about it. People go there for the scariness, and what’s happening in the Far East is entirely different.' The Virginia Gazette reported that it ran a front page photo of the severed head props Saturday, three hours after media outlets began reporting that the terrorist group Islamic State had posted a new video claiming to have beheaded Haines, a British aid worker. Gazette Editor Rusty Carter defended running the photos, according to a story on the paper's website. 'The photo was taken last week as part of an assignment to preview a current exhibit,' he said. 'The figures are cartoonish in design, and do not look realistic. It is the job of our reporters and photographers to report and photograph the news, not censor it.' Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Halloween-themed attraction opened in mid-September. The Tampa park's attraction opens Sept. 26.
Busch Gardens in Virginia and Tampa will no longer show headless props this Halloween .
Some parkgoers were miffed at the displays because they reminded them of the recent beheadings by the Islamic State terrorist group .
Busch Gardens has removed headless exhibits like this one from this year's Halloween line-up . Theme parks Busch Gardens had to remove headless props from their Halloween attractions after complaints that the decapitated heads on display reminded them of the beheadings by terrorist group ISIS. The change came in the wake of the beheadings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and British aid worker David Haines. Islamic state militants recently released . three videos showing each of the brutal acts. Spokesmen . for Busch Gardens in Virginia and Tampa said that in light of the events, . some props may have had the unintended consequence of appearing . insensitive and won't be part of this year's Howl-O-Scream attraction. 'Many . of the scenes depicted at Busch Gardens' Howl-O-Scream are graphic in . nature, but they are fictional and are not intended to provide . commentary on current world events,' spokesman . Travis Claytor wrote. 'The props in this year's event were designed and . purchased several months ago.' Complaints . cropped up recently in Williamsburg when the Virginia Gazette newspaper . ran a photo of five severed head props that were part of the . attraction. The props were part of the Cut Throat Cove attraction, which showed a pirate-themed haunted house with body parts and heads. 'Within this macabre market, the pirates . have been slaughtered and mutiny is afoot,' the description on the . website reads. 'The way out lies with the buried treasure and the . blood-curdling screams you hear just might be your own.' Decorations like this one at Busch Gardens has drawn criticism from some parkgoers who say it's too gruesome in light of the latest ISIS beheadings . The removed props were a part of the park's yearly Howl-O-Scream attraction . The attraction rubbed some parkgoers the wrong way. 'That’s not … consistent with the Halloween spirit at all,' parkgoe rHartley Bond  told WAVY. 'I think it was good that they pulled it. It was out of order and insensitive to public sentiment. So, I’m glad they responded.' Some, like patron Norman England, disagreed. 'It’s Halloween. I would not associate one with the other, you know?' he told WAVY. 'That’s how I feel about it. People go there for the scariness, and what’s happening in the Far East is entirely different.' The Virginia Gazette reported that it ran a front page photo of the severed head props Saturday, three hours after media outlets began reporting that the terrorist group Islamic State had posted a new video claiming to have beheaded Haines, a British aid worker. Gazette Editor Rusty Carter defended running the photos, according to a story on the paper's website. 'The photo was taken last week as part of an assignment to preview a current exhibit,' he said. 'The figures are cartoonish in design, and do not look realistic. It is the job of our reporters and photographers to report and photograph the news, not censor it.' Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Halloween-themed attraction opened in mid-September. The Tampa park's attraction opens Sept. 26.
reminded them of the beheadings by terrorist Spokesmen . for Busch Gardens in Virginia and that the terrorist group Islamic State had posted