Fake News: Haunted House Nonsense

Did a man in Texas really eat a teenager visiting a haunted house this month? The tale of a terrible death is reputed to have happened in a Haunted House.

The story of an Austin, Texas man eating a teenage boy’s body inside of a Haunted House attraction has gone epically viral, with thousands of shares on Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. While the tale may be fun for those who like to get their shivers on, sadly, many failed to realise the story isn’t actually true. It is actually just the latest viral hoax to make its way onto the internet.
The hoax began at an infamous fake news website called Now8News, which features a wide range of unbelievable stories. Though the site has no printed disclaimer about the false nature of the stories posted there, it has been listed numerous times on snopes.com as the perpetrator of false news stories. The story of the man eating a teenage boy in a Haunted house is just the latest offering.
So what’s the story all about?
Allegedly, a group of people visiting The Fright Night Haunted Dreams attraction in Austin, Texas happened upon a quite morbid scene as they were making their way through the haunted house. What they saw was a “crazy looking man biting into his victim that lay in a dirty bathtub.”
But when visitors of the haunted house took a closer look they realized this was no “scene.” In fact, the teenage boy was still alive and screaming out in pain as the man, 27 year old Phillip Harris, munched away.
“I don’t think I can put into words what I saw. It will haunt my dreams forever,” said one fictitious eyewitness. “This sick ass man bit into this dude’s arm and I could literally see tendons being pulled out. The screams were unlike anything I had ever heard before. This boy was in some serious pain. I mean imagine being eaten alive!”
The “ report then goes on to say that the boy’s life was avenged as Texas gun owner, Mike Sullivan, pulled out his concealed weapon and shot the crazed cannibal in the leg and arm. “ Just enough to make him stop until police arrived.”

What a lovely ending to a gruesome tale. I can only imagine how gun enthusiasts will use the hoax to further extol the virtues of “packing heat.”
If you happen to have seen this story of a Texas man eating a teenage boy in a haunted house, do us a favour and let others know it’s not real. There’s enough gruesome stuff happening in the real world without us adding fictitious tales like this one.