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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
How Grady Survived His ‘National Lampoon’ Christmas Light Era
1
The Weight of Written Words
2
Baked Feta, Tomato, and White Bean Skillet
3
President Lincoln’s Unique Speech Style
Terror Turns to Trial
4
A ‘Leatherface’ Lawsuit Leaves a Mark SLIPS, SCREAMS, AND SETTLEMENTS
If you’re a horror film fan, you know how common it is for a would-be victim to trip and fall long enough to allow the killer chasing them to catch up and carry out some nasty deed. While this scene is a classic cliché of the genre, it would strike genuine terror in anyone’s heart if it played out in the real world, especially when you’re a 57-year-old woman with her grandchild in tow. In the late 1990s, Cleanthi Peters accompanied her 10-year-old granddaughter to a Hell’s High haunted house attraction at Universal Studios in Florida. As their walk-through was about to end, an actor portraying the menacing character Leatherface from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” film franchise began chasing them while wielding a fake chainsaw. As the frightened pair began running away from the grotesque antagonist, they slipped on a wet spot on the floor, just like in the movies. Instead of breaking character to help them, the actor playing the pretend psychopath continued to menace the two by standing above them with his torturous tool still in his hands.
Claiming the incident left her and her granddaughter “extremely fearful and in mental distress and anguish,” Peters later sued Universal Studios for emotional distress and other injuries. After numerous trials, the suit was decided in Peters’ favor, resulting in a $15,000 judgment against Universal Studios for failure to keep its haunted house safe for occupants. While this case occurred in Florida, legal experts have opined that the verdict may have been the same in other states, since an unsafe wet floor wouldn’t be a reasonable expectation for anyone attending a haunted house attraction. While Hell’s High may have succeeded in frightening Peters and her granddaughter, the suit proves that horror-themed
entertainment can sometimes be too scary, especially for the defendant’s legal counsel, and Leatherface is best encountered from the comfort of a TV or movie theater screen.
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