Ghouls, skeletons, witches and vampires have long figured at celebrations on Halloween. But this year a familiar and beloved fright figure — the Headless Horseman — is under new scrutiny because of sensitivities over terrorist attacks in the Middle East.
The change came in the wake of the beheading of U.S. journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and British aid worker David Haines by Islamic State militants. News of British aid worker Alan Henning's beheading was made public last week. The four Islamic State killings have prompted a national conversation over what constitutes appropriate Halloween decorations.
Marketers of the Fox series "Sleepy Hollow," which is loosely based on Washington Irving's 1820 short story, apologized after launching a "National Headless Day" ad campaign the same week terrorists released a video showing the beheading of Foley.
And last month, the Associated Press reported Busch Gardens Williamsburg removed some props from a Halloween attraction called "The Cut Throat Cove" after people in Virginia complained about decapitated heads.