If you were in the market for a Halloween ‘Peeping Tom’ you won’t be able to purchase one at Home Depot any longer.
Home Depot says it will pull the Scary Peeper Creeper from its shelves after a woman encountered the Halloween window decoration in an Ontario store.
Breanne Hunt-Wells, a mother of two, told CBC Radio the decoration makes light of voyeurism:
“I fail to see the humor in it…It makes light of a very serious crime. Voyeurism is a crime in Canada.”
A description on Home Depot’s website says the Scary Peeper Creeper is:
“perfect for scaring friends and family during Halloween or any other time of the year.”
The manufacturer, Scary Peeper, features a video on it’s website that shows how the decoration can be used to scare someone.
Hunt-Wells said the decoration shouldn’t be dismissed as simple Halloween fun:
“I would say to people that say ‘it’s just a joke’ there are a lot of things in our society that have been just a joke over time. Racial jokes, cultural jokes. It takes some talking and thinking to realize that maybe we need to be more sensitive. The people that commit this crime are not harmless people.”
Scary Peeper sells other versions of the ‘Peeping Tom’ window decal. Some of it’s best sellers include, Animated Eyes Scary Peeper, Tapping Peeper, and Reaper Peeper.
CBC reached out to Home Depot and the store agreed it wasn’t appropriate to be sold in stores. Home Depot spokeswoman Emily DiCarlo commented:
“We agree that this is not in line with our core values, and when we heard, took immediate action and are currently in the process of removing this product from our assortment…We’ve reached out to advise the customer of our actions and apologize. We’re sorry for any offence that was caused.”
Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes told The Washington Post that Home Depot also decided to pull the product from its Canadian stores because it had received other complaints that the Scary Peeper reminded them of infamous Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo.
According to The Washington Post, Scary Peeper was started in 2013 by a husband and wife team, Morgan and Emily Dowtin.
The Dowtin’s claimed this was their first complaint and apologized to the offended:
“We at Scary Peeper would never, ever, condone any type of violence. Our intention for this product is for it to be used as a fun-spirited prank. We offer our sincerest apologies to anyone who has been offended by our products, and certainly, to those who have been victimized by voyeurs. Violence towards women is a serious issue, and our products are not intended to make light of serious crimes.”
You can still get the Scary Peeper – just not at Home Depot.
Featured Image Via YouTube Video.
