Knott’s Berry Farm and its parent company, Cedar Fair, announced Tuesday that they are shutting down the Halloween attraction Fear VR after the feature caused concern among mental health advocates, including Saddleback pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay, who sent an email to the park Tuesday.

Mental health advocates nationwide emailed Knott’s and Cedar Fair administrators expressing their concern over the last week, that the portrayal of a possessed girl in a hospital as part of a virtual-reality horror show stigmatizes and denigrates individuals with mental illnesses.

In a statement, the amusement park, which is renowned for its popular Halloween event, Knott’s Scary Farm, said its evening attractions during Halloween are “designed to be edgy, and are aimed at an adult-only audience.”

“Over the past week, we have heard from a number of people expressing concern that one of our temporary, Halloween attractions – Fear VR – is hurtful to those who suffer from mental illnesses,” the statement said. “Contrary to some traditional and social media accounts, the attraction’s story and presentation were never intended to portray mental illness.”

Since it would be impossible for them to address those concerns with Halloween just around the corner, theme park officials said, they have decided to shut down the attraction in Buena Park and at two other Cedar Fair parks – California’s Great America in Santa Clara and Canada’s Wonderland near Toronto.

The immersive attraction, which opened Thursday, was built around a girl named Katie who shows up at a medical facility. It was originally titled and marketed as “FearVR: 5150.” That number refers to a section of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which authorizes a peace officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person suspected of having a mental disorder that makes them a danger to themselves or others.

Knott’s and Cedar Fair dropped “5150” on opening day last week after it created an uproar in the mental health community nationwide.

Kay Warren and her husband have become vocal mental health advocates after their youngest son, Matthew, committed suicide at age 27 on April 5, 2013. They have spoken out about his long struggle with chronic depression.

Kay Warren said the ride’s original name struck a nerve because her late son was “held on a 5150” several times when he posed a danger to himself.

When she heard about the ride Monday, she took to Facebook and Twitter urging Knott’s to shut down the attraction, Warren said. On Tuesday, she added, they sent “a respectful email to (Knott’s) and received a respectful response.”

“I’m so grateful (Knott’s and Cedar Fair) listened to the voices of the mental health community,” she said.

Warren said she understands that many park-goers or community members may wonder “what the fuss is all about” or even think it’s absurd to shut down the attraction over the issue of mental health stigma.

“But, I get that someone wouldn’t know what that’s like unless they have a family member or themselves going through this pain,” Warren said. “We wouldn’t use a person suffering from cancer or heart attack and leverage it to create a thrill ride. It glorifies stigma and exacerbates people’s pain.”

Other mental health advocates who tried to get the park’s attention with letters and emails said they are pleased with the outcome.

“I feel good about what happened here,” said John Leyerle, president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Orange County. “Thankfully, this attraction will no longer further mental health stigma.”

He added that his organization would like to continue a dialogue with Knott’s.

“By closing this ride down, they’ve moved things away from a negative place,” Leyerle said. “We see this as an opportunity to talk about this if they are open to that.”