Sneaky NC dad puts mounted raccoon in pantry. Daughter’s reaction a YouTube hit.

A retired Raleigh police lieutenant has become a hit on social media for scaring the dickens out of his teenaged daughter with a mounted raccoon.

Burke County native Kevin Carswell, 48, posted a video of the prank on Jan. 29, and it has gotten nearly 34,000 views, along with stories in British news outlets.

The gag involved his latest raccoon trophy, strategically placed among canned goods in the family’s pantry. Carswell also sprinkled the floor with potato chips, then asked his 14-year-old daughter, Kerri, to reach into the pantry and get him some Cheez-Its.

It seems to take her forever to see the creature lurking atop the Cheez-Its, but once she does, Kerri becomes a blur as she bolts out the door. She screams, “There’s an animal in the pantry.” The video is just over one minute.

Dad can be heard laughing in the background, as she gasps for air and the family dog comes running to her aid.

Coverage of the prank has included stories in the Daily Mail of the United Kingdom and the Chinese language network New Tang Dynasty Television, which called him “cheeky.” It called Kerri’s reaction “priceless.”

Kerri not only got over the scare, but she’s the one who urged him to put the video on YouTube, said Carswell, an Air Force veteran who now runs Pioneer Landscaping in Wake Forest. He says the video has been a hit at her school and has boosted her Instagram following.

“I liked the idea that it might get her some exposure on YouTube. I see it as just good clean father-daughter fun,” said Carswell, a husband and father of two. “I was on my way home from the taxidermist and I thought: ‘I got to have some fun with this.’ What you see is real and unplanned. It’s not made up.”

He has been warned that his daughter may try to get him back with a joke of her own, but he doesn’t believe she’ll go too far.

“Most people think it’s hysterical, but I’ve been told payback can be hell,” he says. “I’ve had people tell me my daughter is going to put thumb tacks in my bed.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Sneaky NC dad puts mounted raccoon in pantry. Daughter’s reaction a YouTube hit.."