SILVER SPRING, Md. – Several students opt out of Cloverly Elementary School’s Halloween parades and celebrations for religious reasons each year, so principal Melissa Brunson decided to cancel the festivities for everyone.

Parents are mounting a protest to Brunson’s recent decision to kill the school’s Halloween traditions by pulling their children from class on Monday and taking them to the adjacent Cloverly Park, despite threats from school officials, WJLA reports.

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“According to some of the parents we have been speaking to, on Friday the principal sat down with fifth grade students and told them the festivities had to be canceled ‘for safety reasons’ and that there is the possibility of a fall festival in November,” according to the news site.

The excuse did jibe with what the principal told the news site.

“Dr. Melissa Brunson says each year a group of students opt out of the Halloween festivities mostly because of religious reasons,” WJLA reports. “In an effort to leave anyone out, the school is not allowing any costumes and the traditional blacktop parade has been called off.”

Regardless of the reason, parents think that putting an end to the decades long tradition is preposterous and they’re removing their children from class at 1:30 p.m. to hold a Halloween party and parade at Cloverly Park.

“The angry parents argue a public school should not change its ‘secular traditions’ to please religious objections,” according to the news site.

School officials are warning parents that any child removed for the party will receive an unexcused absence.

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Brunson certainly is not the first school official to kill students’ Halloween fun.

Glover Community School in Vermont this year put an end to the school’s tradition of spooky themed lunches, pumpkin carving contest and costumes in class because of religious objections to the holiday.

“We need to keep religious celebrations and holidays out of schools,” the school’s new principal, Angelique Brown, told The Chronicle.

Other schools are cracking down on creepy clown costumes in the wake of a nationwide epidemic of creepy clowns haunting kids at schools and playgrounds.

“Until additional information is available, New Haven Public Schools Director of Security Thaddeus Reddish asks that principals and building leaders prohibit clown costumes and any symbols of terror during this Halloween season,” district officials wrote in a letter to parents cited by The Washington Post.

Two Birmingham, Michigan elementary schools – Pembroke Elementary School and Beverly Elementary School – are also taking a zero tolerance approach to clown costumes, regardless of who’s wearing them on Halloween, according to Hometown Life.

“In light of the recent ‘clown pranks’ in the area and on the news, clown costumes will not be allowed,” Pembroke principal Susan Crocker wrote in a mass email to parents. “Any adult who shows up dressed as a clown will not be allowed to enter the building and any child dressed as a clown will remain in the office until a change of clothes is brought from home.”