Haunted house actor who used real knife as prop to scare guests stabs boy, Ohio cops say

A haunted house actor who swapped out his fake prop knife for a real one “to try and scare” guests was caught when he stabbed a boy in the big toe, Ohio police said.

The Berea Police Department was called to the haunted house at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds at about 8 p.m. Sept. 18, according to a police report provided to McClatchy News.

Upon talking with haunted house employees and the boy’s family friend, police learned the 22-year-old “roaming outside actor” was “using a large bowie knife as a prop to try and scare them.”

In front of the boy, 11, and his family friend, the actor reportedly scraped his knife on the ground and then started stabbing the knife at the ground near the boy’s feet.

While doing so, police say the knife went through the boy’s “red croc style shoe,” cutting his left big toe.

When police arrived, the toe was “bleeding slightly,” according to the report. Staff then provided first aid and an officer applied a dressing before the boy could put his shoe back on.

Further medical attention was declined by the boy’s mom who arrived at the haunted house after the incident, police said, and the boy wanted to finish the haunted houses instead of going to the hospital.

Police say they confiscated the actor’s knife who admitted to bringing it from home instead of using the haunted houses’ “provided prop knives.”

He also admitted using the bowie knife “was not a good idea” and that the injury was an accident. He said that he did not intend to hurt anyone, according to the report.

The boy’s mom has not requested any criminal charges, the report says.

The actor’s mother has requested the knife back, police said, but police will not release it until its confirmed that it’s not needed for a criminal case.

Cuyahoga County is in the northeast part of the state, just south of Lake Erie.

This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 10:01 AM with the headline "Haunted house actor who used real knife as prop to scare guests stabs boy, Ohio cops say."