Supermarket Pulls Coloring Book Based on Horror Films Like Psycho

The books were being marketed to children ages 5 to 8

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Screenshot from creator Mel Elliott's website.

The Silence of the Lambs, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jaws and A Clockwork Orange are all great for late-night chills, but the films aren’t typically shown to 5-year-olds.

British supermarket chain Tesco has announced that it is pulling a 16-page coloring book called Colour Me Good — Arrggghhhh!! from its stores after parents complained that the graphic scenes — based from horror films like Fatal Attraction, Hellraiser and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining — aren’t fit for children. Perhaps the cover of the coloring book, which features actress Janet Leigh’s screaming face from the infamous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, tipped them off.

(MORE: Was Hitchcock Psycho?)

The book was being marketed on Tesco’s website as appropriate for children ages 5 to 8. According to the BBC, Tesco said the book had been placed in the wrong category when listed on its website by a third-party seller. The book’s author, Mel Elliott, said, “My products are pop-culture-inspired and aimed at playful grown-ups. They are not aimed at kids. They are usually sold to grown-ups in fashion shops and book stores.” She was unaware that the distributor had placed the items on sale through Tesco’s website.

Guess the kids will just have to discover The Shining on their own now.

MORE: Is Horror Too Scary for Broadcast TV?

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