A school district in New York state has banned its students from dressing up as characters from Squid Game, the dystopian South Korean drama that has taken Netflix by storm.

The Fayetteville-Manlius School District located in central New York announced that it informed parents that children would be prohibited from wearing costumes associated with Squid Game for Halloween. In a statement to CBS News, the district said its principals "wanted to make sure our families are aware that it would be inappropriate for any student to wear to school a Halloween costume from this show because of the potential violent messages aligned with the costume."

Superintendent Dr. Craig Tice added that Fayetteville-Manlius School District's guidelines stipulate that Halloween costumes with items "that can be interpreted as weapons" like toy swords or guns, and costumes that are "too gory or scary" are not allowed at school events

Squid Game has become Netflix's most popular series launch ever, drawing 111 million fans since its debut last month. The series, based in part on director Hwang Dong-hyuk's experience, depicts a world where adults are pitted against each other in traditional children's games. The winners become rich, but the losers are killed.

Squid Game is an adult-themed series but it has prompted regulators around the world to warn parents against allowing their kids to watch the series. Seven school districts in Canada’s Quebec warned parents about students imitating the games on playgrounds and another in Florida told parents that students were imitating acts from the show.

Some parents however considered the ban “overbearing” and said parents should do more to stop watching the show than wear the costume from it.

"It's a costume," one parent in the Bronx said. "Just don't let your kids watch the show,” one parent told CBS News

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