Groom Gets Shingles After Traumatizing Bachelor Party Kidnapping Prank
A terrifying kidnapping "prank" staged as part of a man's bachelor party nearly ruined the wedding after the "victim" developed shingles as a result of the stress he endured during the abduction.
Ollie McAninch Of Somerset, England, and his fiancée Clair Hart were enjoying a drive through the countryside when they were suddenly ambushed by a gang of ski-masked men screaming obscenities and throwing smoke grenades.
The men dragged McAninch from his car while Hart, who was in on the gag, was left behind to scream in terror.
McAninch was then put in an "orange Guantanamo Bay-style jumpsuit" and thrown into the back of the "assailants'" van with his hands tied.
"For more than two hours I was in that van. I’ve never been so scared," McAninch told The Sun.
The groom's supposed friends drove him out to Devon over 100 miles away before finally letting him know the whole thing was fake.
But the "fun" didn't end there: A stripped-naked McAninch was forced to put on a "lime green Borat-style mankini" and ride a bicycle 10 miles to his own bachelor party.
According to McAninch, the incident was so traumatizing that he ended up developing shingles as a result.
Here's what WebMD has to say about the disease, also known as "herpes zoster":
Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus "sleeps" (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. Some medicines may trigger the virus to wake up and cause a shingles rash. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.
Though shingles itself is not contagious, people who exhibit symptoms can potentially transmit the virus to individuals who have never had chickenpox.
As a precaution, McAninch was told to stay away from his bride-to-be for at least a month.
Ultimately, however, the wedding went on as scheduled, but that doesn't mean McAninch is about to forgive and forget.
"I've logged it for future vengeance," he said.
