Mom leaves five-year-old son in tears after Elf on the Shelf prank goes horribly wrong

Talk about a major mishap! If you ever secretly thought the classic holiday Elf on the Shelf game or pranks associated with it were actually creepy or weird, you might want to show this story around.

As reported by the Mirror, a mother in Norfolk, England set up a prank that backfired on her poor five-year-old son Oscar. The woman, named Tanya Lee, took to Facebook to recall the interesting story. Apparently, the 30-year-old mom thought it would be fun to place a stuffed Grinch doll next to their Elf on the Shelf, and set up a scene making it look like the Grinch had eaten an elf.

Going all out to add silverware in the Grinch’s arms and fake blood on the counter, Tanya also placed chicken bones to look like the elf’s bones, complete with a Christmas hat. Alongside the Grinch and the bones was another Elf on the Shelf, which Tanya set up to have its hands covering its eyes, as if in horror.

Truly, this scene looks pretty scary for a five-year-old kid. To check out the image, click the link here.

Explaining the situation, Tanya wrote on Facebook:

"We had had roast chicken on Sunday and the bones left a perfect elf-shaped skeleton so I thought I’d play this joke on Oscar. I went for it, and left the skeleton out as if the Grinch ate Elf on the Shelf. But my little boy cried and cried. He cried for half an hour. His first words afterwards were ‘the Grinch shouldn’t have eaten her. The Grinch is not allowed to eat her’. I had to open the cupboard and show him that the elf was actually hiding and that it was just a silly little joke. He was traumatised but I found it hilarious. He was relieved when he found out but he still will not look at the Grinch toy at all. Every time I put the elf near the Grinch now, he moves it away."

So it appears it all worked out in the end for Tanya. But poor Oscar! At that young age, I’m sure the whole scene truly traumatized him. Playing pranks can definitely be fun, but for a child it could have some lasting effects. To each their own, I suppose!

If you’re in the mood for some Christmas pranks, perhaps hit up Tanya Lee!