# halloween display in ohio gone too far?



## slash (Sep 9, 2010)

http://www.fox8live.com/story/30221418/some-say-halloween-display-crosses-a-line

another video on the house!


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## mrincredibletou (Sep 17, 2007)

Give me a break "A mother says her daughter thought they were real bodies", these people must have nothing else to do.
Kinda wish I lived there, I woukld go nuts with the gore.


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## DeadED (Oct 12, 2010)

Yea there was nothing much to it. If her daughter thought they were real. Why not be a parent that explains what it is. I know. I know... easier to blame someone else then it is to be a parent


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## thruster (Sep 17, 2014)

O I like it. Hope they dont take it down.


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

I've lived next door, LITERALLY next door, to an elementary school for the last 10+ years. We share a property line. While I don't have things up until the day of Halloween & I don't do super gory, I've never had anyone complain. 

Before that I lived across the street from my current home & back then I did do gory & more I still didn't get any complaints. 

Also, that clip doesn't even really show much & the station is too big a wuss to show it. 

This link has more.
http://local12.com/m/news/features/...has-neighbors-upset-216628.shtml#.VhfGrvlViko

It sounds like ONE KID complained. I also call BS on the homeowners on not wanting to be scary. It's scary, that the point for some for Halloween. Some little kids find those inflatables scary, some are afraid of moving things, some are afraid of nothing, it's all relative.


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## 1983ss454 (Sep 18, 2014)

I swear the kids and parents now a days are becoming too soft, there's always one person out there and the fact that the news actually reported it is worse


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

While I don't see it as all that realistic, I do think it's in pretty bad taste symbolically. One of the props appears to be an impaled child so yeah, I think it's a bit much for the front yard display. I wouldn't do it at all, but that's just me.
In spite of my opinion on the display, it's their yard and they can do as they wish, but they shouldn't be surprised if people avoid their house on Halloween night.


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## ElGuapoGuano (Oct 5, 2006)

Granted I couldn't see much since all they showed was a hanging body bag prop, a sign and the school over and over again. However, it didn't look that bad to me.


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## Rustie (Sep 9, 2012)

Not my taste or something I would do in my yard, but as a kid I would have loved walking by that house to school. It's Halloween season, walk on the other side of the street until November 1st if you can't explain decorations to your kids.


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## chachabella (Jul 3, 2013)

Would I do it? No, but my husband is in law enforcement and so he is sensitive about public perception. 

Do I think it is in bad taste? Well, it IS across the street from an elementary school. And the small child mannequin that has a sword through it's throat is a bit over the top. I think it is fine although probably better off in a different neighborhood. I also call BS on the owners not wanting a scary display. Of COURSE they were looking to have a scary display. And to the little girl that wants blow up pumpkins and tiny skeletons.... I have hated that kindergarten decor since I was in kindergarten.

Parents should parent and talk their children about how everyone is different. This little girl is in for a rough life if she grows up without any exposure.


Do I think the owners should take it down or tone it down? NO. Freedom of speech. And freedom to be a jackass as well.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

IMO, there's entirely too much Us and Them mentality going on. Some people are just contentious attention w̶h̶o̶ ̶ seekers who actually want to annoy the neighborhood--pushing the envelope for no other reason than to prove they can. Why make things more polarized? Why try to take those who might be on the fence about Halloween decorating and push then over the other way?


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## Araniella (Oct 17, 2010)

Some kids are afraid of Santa. Look at all of the pics of screaming kids trying to get away from him. And that's OK? I guess Santa should be outlawed next. Wondering if I can complain to the mall to get Santa out of there because my son is terrified of him.


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## FutureFiyero (Aug 28, 2009)

It's fine.
It's Halloween.
Let your freak flag fly, is what I say. 
You don't need to think it's tasteful or like it, but let it be and if you're worried about your child, parent them properly. People need to stop trying to change the world so they can be lazy when it comes to changing how their child VIEWS the world.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Well, they can do whatever they want. But I think the display itself is pretty lame if they really are celebrating HALLOWEEN.

That's just me, though.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

I wanted to add that even if I think it's in poor taste I was glad to hear that the city council stood up for the homeowner's right of free expression. So often in cases like this, local government seems oblivious to that thing called the constitution.


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

DaveintheGrave said:


> Well, they can do whatever they want. But I think the display itself is pretty lame if they really are celebrating HALLOWEEN.
> 
> That's just me, though.


Well, I don't know if I'd call it lame but I do wonder what they'd think of some of the set-ups here? Some here have waaay more stuff, some have gorier stuff. They'd probably have a complete attack. In fact I was kind of shocked at how little they had in the yard too. I was totally expecting masses of stuff, animated props, fog machines, zombies, just so much more.

I do wonder what happened to actual parenting instead of just complaining on Facebook & creating Fauxtrage or going to the local news about petty crap like this? 

I mean think about it, what if I went to that girl's mom & said "you know those inflatables & skeletons offend me, these kids are terrified of that little Frankenstein, take it down." Some kids ARE terrified of inflatables, I know a couple that were terrified of any & all last year. 

I feel badly for that little girl because now she'll think the answer to everything isn't stopping & explaining the who/what/where/how & why of things but just being scared, complaining & hoping the world bends to her will.

Maybe I'll go to Petsmart & tell them to stop selling birds because they creep me out when I go past them to buy cat food. That's what they're doing. If they'd asked the people about it first, but no. Let's go express out Fauxtrage on Facebook & the news!!

Wonder what they'd think the one in this thread? Although this is a different situation since they had an HOA to deal with.
http://www.halloweenforum.com/gener...shut-down-neighborhood-halloween-display.html


Is a yard full of everything worse than 4 or 5 gory things? Would it be better if the yard was full of inflatables?


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## LairMistress (Jul 31, 2009)

I know that my opinion is on the unpopular side, but I just don't get these kind of decorations. To me, Halloween and horror are not synonymous. Halloween used to be the fun kind of scary, not a murder fest. I miss the days before slasher flicks became common.

I wouldn't complain to the city or the owners, even if it upsets my kids. People can do what they want. We'd just skip their house, and neither of us would be out anything.

I will never, ever put up such things, but opinions are opinions, and each one differs.


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## chachabella (Jul 3, 2013)

I won't decorate with gore either. Just not my style. Hate the movies too. I would much rather a good psychological thriller than a slasher any day.


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## PMTT (Oct 13, 2013)

Just goes to show that there will always be someone complaining about something!


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Gore, no gore, realistic or not, you don't put a guy on an upside down cross in the middle of your yard and expect everyone to be OK with it. Could be a blucky on that and we'd probably be hearing about it on the news. 

They're getting exactly what they wanted from their display, so good for them. 

I do want to send the little girl some little tiny skeletons now...where did I put those mice?


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

That's why I don't buy their "we weren't trying to scare" schpiel. 

If you weren't trying to scare you'd have gone a different route than a spiked kid, an inverted cross with someone crucified on it, & all that blood. Just admit you want to scare people & own it. It's OK. But don't get upset when a kid says she's scared of bloody victims.

I am also glad there's no HOA to shut it down & that the town basically said "whatevs, get over it."

I still think the mother should have explained to the girl that 1)it's not real, 2)let's go talk to them & see what they have to say, & 3)not everyone wants cute inflatables, some want that sort of stuff & it's OK. 

If mom had done that we wouldn't be hearing about this & have a 3 page thread.

I know when kids are a certain age they can't tell real from fantasy, but most kids around 7 or 8 can understand if you show them the empty mask, let them see it's just rubber, nothing is inside but paper or a wig head. That won't work with the 3 year old but this little girl may have understood that if mom hadn't gone off half-cocked & taken it to a public forum.

It's just so tiresome. It's the same crap every year. If there's an HOA that adds another layer of crap, but I bet if we searched for threads like these there's be far too many of them.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

Oh, they may not have been trying to scare anybody. I think it's far more likely they said, "hey, let's see if we can get on the news this year!". I think we are seeing two sets of attention seekers; the one's with the "shocking" yard display and the "shocked and horrified" mother and daughter. Truthfully, the little girl sounded like she was just repeating the words that had been fed to her. She didn't sound scared or shaken. The mom just wanted her 15 minutes of fame and used her child to get it. Nothing new there.


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

I am on the fence regarding the display. The homeowners have the right to do whatever they choose, but, being right across the street from an elementary school, I could see the want for them to tone it down (although not to the extent that the likely-force-fed-what-to-say-by-her-mother 9-year-old suggests). I certainly do like their gargoyle, though


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

I'm on the fence too, 
On the one hand, I think some of the display is on the gruesome side, and that it's not the greatest choice next to an elementary school. 
On the other hand, I believe the homeowners have a right to do what they want in their yard. 

For the most part, I'm a believer in the "live & let live" mentality, but one year there were some very publicized killings of people overseas who had gotten their heads chopped off. I was *incredibly* bothered that a yard display I saw in the media chose to do a scene with a realistic dummy chopping off the head of another realistic dummy. Maybe it was because as a parent, I just kept thinking "what if the parent of a murdered child saw that?". Logically, I know that it's not real. I know that the year before I might have seen it and shrugged it off as not my taste but not necessarily offensive. But, emotional reactions don't always make logical sense. 

I'm not sure what I would do in this scenario. My kids aren't in school yet, but across the street from our local school is a yard display with a cemetery and skeletons. I think it looks great, but if they were to add some torturous looking scenes, I'd be feeling like it was a poor choice due to their location. 

This is hard too, because even though my household loves Halloween & my kids love decrepit skulls & zombies, we respect that other kids don't and can be scared of that. We do try to set up something spooky/scary without going gory, and we wouldn't deliberately set off a prop like the jumping spider near a little one unless we thought they'd be okay with it. Well - okay, partially a lie since I did it to my own kids! Mwah ha ha! 

Anyway, there's a part of me that feels like if adults don't like something - too bad, so sad. But if kids would be uncomfortable, then part of me feels like society should consider that before they do something. If you have a haunt that people don't see unless you deliberately go there, then have at it. But if you have a display that anyone just randomly walking by will see - well, that's the gray area for sure.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I understand what you're saying, Jenn&Matt. A lot of people are saying that parents can discuss this stuff with their kids. True...to an extent. How about kids with parents who don't bother to explain things and reassure them? It's pretty sad for them, and not their fault. Also, kids with some of the best parents in the world still don't have _adult perspective_. There are a lot of real, awful things going on in the world, and sorting them out isn't that easy for a kid, even when adults talk things over with them. You can give kids a perfect explanation of how torture gore is just some people's idea of seasonal decor, and they still might lie awake at night and worry. (Same way you can explain that school shootings are pretty rare, but kids still apt to be frightened hearing about them.) If you don't much care about other people, it's easy to say they should just toughen up & pull some adult perspective out of --wherever it may come from. If it's important to you that kids feel safe in their neighborhoods, you might view things differently. 
I'm not saying that the people in the article should be forced to take down their display. I just think it's a shame that they chose to put up an explicitly violent display right by the school-- especially a display with a child "victim". Just because you can ...

Edit in: I do agree that the kid in the clip sounds a lot more coached than frightened, and I think it's pretty clear that both sides were scrambling for their 15 minutes. Still, there are lots of other kids-- younger kids-- attending the school. Why not try to make little Halloween fans for the future, rather than putting them off? If you must have gore to self-express, consider shielding it and saving it for the older kids.


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## kissedazombieandlikedit (Aug 24, 2012)

To me, Halloween is a wink and a nod to ghosts and goblins that go bump in the night. Halloween should be lighthearted fun.


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## Mason o' Lantern (Oct 1, 2015)

I dunno, it's hard to say, where do you draw the line? If someone put up a display that was explicitly sexual then there would be no question, they would have to take it down for sure, even if "it's not real". Where do you draw the line with explicit violence and gore? Many adults have been desensitized to violence and gore, but children can be sensitive. Would it be okay to put a TV in your front yard playing Troma films? Freedom of expression, right?


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

To me it rides the line of tasteless. Especially that close to an elementary school, I wouldn't want my young children seeing an impaled child, no matter how fake. Would I get all riled up and start petitioning city hall? No, and if it was part of an enclosed haunt for older kids and adults, I would be perfectly fine with it, to each their own on our favorite holiday, but out on a lawn where it can turn everyone's stomach and frighten young kids, I think tasteless is the best word for it. Reminds me of the scandal last year around here when someone put up a pretty freaking realistic gallows and had an equally realistic body swinging from it. While I wasn't on the bandwagon trying to get it taken down, I understood that it was a trigger for some people, and felt it was pretty tasteless - put up more for shock value than to actually be in the spirit of the season. The homeowner, to placate people swapped out the very realistic dummy with a skeleton, and the fervor died down.


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

I think it would take a lot more than that to scare kids nowadays. They can see scenes worse than that on prime time t.v. I think it is the parent who finds it objectionable and she's using 'the kids' to get it taken down.

I agree with the earlier poster who found it incredible that a kid thought it was real. Come on! REALLY?


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

Palladino said:


> I think it would take a lot more than that to scare kids nowadays. They can see scenes worse than that on prime time t.v. I think it is the parent who finds it objectionable and she's using 'the kids' to get it taken down.
> 
> I agree with the earlier poster who found it incredible that a kid thought it was real. Come on! REALLY?


My 8 year old wouldn't have seen something like that. No cable, no antenna. Would have scared the heck out of her. To say nothing of her 3 year old sister, who while she isn't old enough to go to elementary school, if we lived in that neighborhood, she'd have to walk past it to take her sister to school with me. I'd probably be mapping a different route to school to avoid going by that house if it was by my kid's school because that's a little too graphic for my kids.

If the point of decorating your house is to entertain trick or treaters, why would you put up something so graphic as to keep them away? Again, I cite that this is put up for shock value, not to be in the spirit of the season.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

^Yes, shock value and media attention, which is exactly what they got.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Madame Leota said:


> ^Yes, shock value and media attention, which is exactly what they got.


I agree. From a technical execution standpoint. These people rocked it! Only I would be admiring them for their talent if they used a little discretion. Backyard, garage, walled in haunt. Putting it out front? Across from an elementary school? hahahah I laugh. ho ho ho Speaks volumes to me.
This is not about 'freedom to decorate'. They knew it would offend. They offended someone. So there is no boo-hooing. Mission accomplished.
Attention sought. Attention gained.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

okay just remember.. we used to be able to say Merry Christmas.. now its happy holidays .. enough said

look to this thread ad: Grumps shut down neighborhood Halloween display


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

whichypoo said:


> okay just remember.. we used to be able to say Merry Christmas.. now its happy holidays .. enough said
> 
> look to this thread ad: Grumps shut down neighborhood Halloween display


We're still allowed to say Merry Christmas. Anyone who says we can't is being stupid.


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

LadyMage said:


> My 8 year old wouldn't have seen something like that. No cable, no antenna. Would have scared the heck out of her. To say nothing of her 3 year old sister, who while she isn't old enough to go to elementary school, if we lived in that neighborhood, she'd have to walk past it to take her sister to school with me. I'd probably be mapping a different route to school to avoid going by that house if it was by my kid's school because that's a little too graphic for my kids.
> 
> If the point of decorating your house is to entertain trick or treaters, why would you put up something so graphic as to keep them away? Again, I cite that this is put up for shock value, not to be in the spirit of the season.


One year I noticed a boy walking past my haunt display on his way to school every morning. He would put up his hand to block his view of my yard as he passed by. My display was nothing like the one we're discussing but I suppose his parents could have asked me to take my display down, too.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

I sometimes ask myself, if Halloween stops being a children's holiday, will it still be as much fun? I usually come back to the answer of "no." There has been an undeniable shift in Halloween in favor of adults; costumes, props and decor, etc.. While many claim it to be for the kids, adults count for a large percentage of Halloween merchandise sold. I think this is kind of neat, and it bodes well for the future of the holiday but I could not imagine Halloween without kids trick or treating. diaplays like this, however "creative" are done with the intent of eliciting a response, and when one is given the creators justify it. We can all debate the use of gore or over the top carnage/violent scenes in Halloween dispalys but from my POV, if my own display discouraged kids from coming by and enjoying it, that would tell me I made a wrong turn, (and no, it's not about todays kids being soft or sheltered). IMO the display is in poor taste, given it's proximity to an elementary school, and as one member mentioned, what does that stuff have to do with Halloween? I personally don't get it but it's not my house. Parents will simply take their kids to other homes or even neighborhoods to avoid it, and thats kind of sad.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

LadyMage said:


> We're still allowed to say Merry Christmas. Anyone who says we can't is being stupid.


 I am not allowed to say it at my job and there are many other jobs and places that you can't because it might offend someone.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

whichypoo said:


> I am not allowed to say it at my job and there are many other jobs and places that you can't because it might offend someone.


Does not invalidate my point. Forbidding someone from well wishing another person is stupid. Getting offended because someone well wished you in a way that was not pertinent to you, is also stupid. So yes, I said it, your company policy is stupid. And I'm quite sure you agree.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

LadyMage said:


> Does not invalidate my point. Forbidding someone from well wishing another person is stupid. Getting offended because someone well wished you in a way that was not pertinent to you, is also stupid. So yes, I said it, your company policy is stupid. And I'm quite sure you agree.



My point as I thought made clear.. is that this whole I don't like what you do, causes laws and polices made..they may be stupid but they are there.. because someone makes a big tiff about it.. gets on the news .. others decide to get on the band wagon.. gets to court .. boom there goes your rights. and yes I agree its stupid but its real.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

whichypoo said:


> My point as I thought made clear.. is that this whole I don't like what you do, causes laws and polices made..they may be stupid but they are there.. because someone makes a big tiff about it.. gets on the news .. others decide to get on the band wagon.. gets to court .. boom there goes your rights. and yes I agree its stupid but its real.


True. But the intent is different. When someone wishes someone Merry Christmas or Happy holidays the intent is the same. It's a genuine (ok in a work setting sometimes kinda empty) well wishing. Some people can be oversensitive about the actual content of the message, but the sentiment behind the message is exactly the same. I had an older classmate when I was in college, he was in his fifties, and around christmas time, with him being jewish, I asked him about the whole "merry christmas" well wishing thing. He told me that at my age, and I was at the time the more typical college going age, he used to get annoyed, not with the individual person assuming that he celebrated Christmas, but at society as a whole assuming that everyone in north america assuming that everyone else in north america celebrated Christmas. The older he got, the more he mellowed and realized that it was meant as a simple greeting and gesture of good will, and he should take it as such. And honestly anyone who doesn't take it as he does now is simply being over sensitive. 

The same cannot be said in this case. We rate our television and movies to protect more sensitive viewers, children in particular. We as a society realize that certain aspects of life are a bit much for those people and work to protect them from it. This person is being deliberately perverse, and putting the same kinds of things that would have to normally wait until a certain hour to be aired on television so as to not scare the kiddies out on deliberate display in the name of a holiday that is largely marketed to children only steps from a school for children of tender age. And they knew it was inappropriate, they had to, they've lived in the world this long so they're either completely dense or doing it on purpose. These are not images that would be marketed to children, ever. They wouldn't be on TV during hours that they would be awake typically, or in movies they would be allowed to go to, they're images that would be limited to teenagers, or more likely to adults. They're getting exactly the type of backlash they were expecting unless their heads are filled with cheese instead of brains. So while I don't want the governing bodies to go out and draft laws as to what we can and cannot put on our lawns, I also don't want goreporn on display for everyone to see and give small children nightmares either. There is a line, and this has crossed it. Deliberately subjecting children to rated R imagery is not ok.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

Parents can explain things to kids, but that doesn't mean the kids will be instantly okay. Little kids do get scared of Santa Claus and witches and other random stuff - which to me says that we should be more understanding when they are afraid of something that even scares adults, not less. And in this case, it is right next to the school, so parents who would otherwise just avoid bringing their kid by that house don't have the option.

I think it's good the city agreed the homeowners should be able to do what they want, but I think it's unfair to say this person doesn't know how to parent. Her child may be more sensitive than some other kids. Also, saying, "My child thought this was real" doesn't imply the parent made no attempt to explain that it was just a display. That sounds to me like an attempt to explain how strongly this affected her child. I see no reason the small child should have to grow a thicker skin, while the people putting up the display should expect to never hear any criticism.

I'm also reminded of the common scene where small children get excited about visiting a real haunted house for the first time, get in line with their parents, wait - and then start bawling to go home because they just can't deal with it. In that case, those are kids who do want to see scary things, but aren't yet at the stage where they can deal with it. No one is yelling at those parents for not dragging the kids through the haunt.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

LadyMage said:


> True. But the intent is different. When someone wishes someone Merry Christmas or Happy holidays the intent is the same. It's a genuine (ok in a work setting sometimes kinda empty) well wishing. Some people can be oversensitive about the actual content of the message, but the sentiment behind the message is exactly the same. I had an older classmate when I was in college, he was in his fifties, and around christmas time, with him being jewish, I asked him about the whole "merry christmas" well wishing thing. He told me that at my age, and I was at the time the more typical college going age, he used to get annoyed, not with the individual person assuming that he celebrated Christmas, but at society as a whole assuming that everyone in north america assuming that everyone else in north america celebrated Christmas. The older he got, the more he mellowed and realized that it was meant as a simple greeting and gesture of good will, and he should take it as such. And honestly anyone who doesn't take it as he does now is simply being over sensitive.
> 
> The same cannot be said in this case. We rate our television and movies to protect more sensitive viewers, children in particular. We as a society realize that certain aspects of life are a bit much for those people and work to protect them from it. This person is being deliberately perverse, and putting the same kinds of things that would have to normally wait until a certain hour to be aired on television so as to not scare the kiddies out on deliberate display in the name of a holiday that is largely marketed to children only steps from a school for children of tender age. And they knew it was inappropriate, they had to, they've lived in the world this long so they're either completely dense or doing it on purpose. These are not images that would be marketed to children, ever. They wouldn't be on TV during hours that they would be awake typically, or in movies they would be allowed to go to, they're images that would be limited to teenagers, or more likely to adults. They're getting exactly the type of backlash they were expecting unless their heads are filled with cheese instead of brains. So while I don't want the governing bodies to go out and draft laws as to what we can and cannot put on our lawns, I also don't want goreporn on display for everyone to see and give small children nightmares either. There is a line, and this has crossed it. Deliberately subjecting children to rated R imagery is not ok.



I did not put words on here to get into a debate with you. I just said our rights are being taken away.. very easy to understand.


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## GoldenPumpkin (Oct 10, 2015)

whichypoo said:


> My point as I thought made clear.. is that this whole I don't like what you do, causes laws and polices made..they may be stupid but they are there.. because someone makes a big tiff about it.. gets on the news .. others decide to get on the band wagon.. gets to court .. boom there goes your rights. and yes I agree its stupid but its real.



Where my husband works, you cannot say "Merry Christmas," has to be "Happy Holidays." Also, if they put up a Christmas tree, they had to put up a menorah and a kwanzaa decoration. Not kidding. The part that's strange, is that to their knowledge, there is not one jewish employee and no one really knows if kwanzaa is celebrated by any employee.

I was determined to get all 3 types of decor so that a tree could be displayed, but gave up. I could not find any kwanzaa items used in the celebration of that holiday to purchase.

I gave up, and they couldn't have a tree. A tree at Christmas is so festive, it bummed them all out. I would think that they could have put up a tree and told any employee that if they had a different celebration, to let them know and they'd acknowledge it.

It just is so iffy. People can and will get offended at any small thing, and also want to take away other people's celebrations because they don't agree.

I am not in love with the display in Ohio, but it's their property and their right to celebrate however they want.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

LadyMage said:


> True. But the intent is different. When someone wishes someone Merry Christmas or Happy holidays the intent is the same. It's a genuine (ok in a work setting sometimes kinda empty) well wishing. Some people can be oversensitive about the actual content of the message, but the sentiment behind the message is exactly the same. I had an older classmate when I was in college, he was in his fifties, and around christmas time, with him being jewish, I asked him about the whole "merry christmas" well wishing thing. He told me that at my age, and I was at the time the more typical college going age, he used to get annoyed, not with the individual person assuming that he celebrated Christmas, but at society as a whole assuming that everyone in north america assuming that everyone else in north america celebrated Christmas. The older he got, the more he mellowed and realized that it was meant as a simple greeting and gesture of good will, and he should take it as such. And honestly anyone who doesn't take it as he does now is simply being over sensitive.
> 
> .


I get upset about Merry Christmas greetings from strangers, though I didn't used to. I am an atheist and I do celebrate Christmas, but that phrase has been tainted by people who get on their high horse and use it as a way to complain about and attack anyone who isn't Christian. Also having worked retail, I always dreaded getting complaints for wishing people Happy Holidays.

i do prefer wishing people Happy Holidays if I don't know what they celebrate, if only because there are so many holidays.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

GoldenPumpkin said:


> Where my husband works, you cannot say "Merry Christmas," has to be "Happy Holidays." Also, if they put up a Christmas tree, they had to put up a menorah and a kwanzaa decoration. Not kidding. The part that's strange, is that to their knowledge, there is not one jewish employee and no one really knows if kwanzaa is celebrated by any employee.
> 
> I was determined to get all 3 types of decor so that a tree could be displayed, but gave up. I could not find any kwanzaa items used in the celebration of that holiday to purchase.
> 
> ...


It's not just people being offended at other people's joy. In my case, for instance, I don't care to have mangers or overtly religious displays on government property because it reminds me of getting screamed at and attacked because I'm not a Christian. One of the most notable things was having to stand at attention for hours in the kitchen one Christmas Eve while getting screamed at for hours because I'd said I didn't want to attend church, that I didn't believe in any of it. Kinda sucks the joy out of the experience.

A lot of the trappings of Christmas can actually be enjoyed without any religious affiliation at all, but the whole "War on Christmas" thing has brought out a lot of people who want to make it an exclusive thing they can use to step on everyone else. It's the usual bigoted stuff, but much bigger and more potent.

So please take a moment to blame the people who took something fun and used it to hurt a lot of other folks.


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## GoldenPumpkin (Oct 10, 2015)

Greenwick said:


> I get upset about Merry Christmas greetings from strangers, though I didn't used to. I am an atheist and I do celebrate Christmas, but that phrase has been tainted by people who get on their high horse and use it as a way to complain about and attack anyone who isn't Christian. Also having worked retail, I always dreaded getting complaints for wishing people Happy Holidays.
> 
> i do prefer wishing people Happy Holidays if I don't know what they celebrate, if only because there are so many holidays.


I get what you are saying, but for me, that time of year is so fun and happy that I am good with all greetings...Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever. I know that when a stranger (especially) is moved enough to greet me seasonally, it is very nice, and I accept is in good spirits.

I read "A Christmas Carol" often during the holidays and I get very sentimental.


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## GoldenPumpkin (Oct 10, 2015)

Greenwick said:


> It's not just people being offended at other people's joy. In my case, for instance, I don't care to have mangers or overtly religious displays on government property because it reminds me of getting screamed at and attacked because I'm not a Christian. One of the most notable things was having to stand at attention for hours in the kitchen one Christmas Eve while getting screamed at for hours because I'd said I didn't want to attend church, that I didn't believe in any of it. Kinda sucks the joy out of the experience.
> 
> A lot of the trappings of Christmas can actually be enjoyed without any religious affiliation at all, but the whole "War on Christmas" thing has brought out a lot of people who want to make it an exclusive thing they can use to step on everyone else. It's the usual bigoted stuff, but much bigger and more potent.
> 
> So please take a moment to blame the people who took something fun and used it to hurt a lot of other folks.


I am so sorry you were treated so poorly and abused as a child. It must be terrible to see a Christmas display and have a negative reaction to it because of terrible personal experiences. 

I don't know if I can blame the family that hurt you, since I don't know them. I urge you to seek therapy, as I did, for negative childhood experiences and abuse, It's so much better to resolve these feelings instead of going through life being angry and negative.

I wish you peace and hope your holidays are always happy.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

You said that people get offended by every little thing. I was pointing out that it's not just people being over-sensitive.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

GoldenPumpkin said:


> I am so sorry you were treated so poorly and abused as a child. It must be terrible to see a Christmas display and have a negative reaction to it because of terrible personal experiences.
> 
> I don't know if I can blame the family that hurt you, since I don't know them. I urge you to seek therapy, as I did, for negative childhood experiences and abuse, It's so much better to resolve these feelings instead of going through life being angry and negative.
> 
> I wish you peace and hope your holidays are always happy.


You shouldn't assume I'm a negative person because of this. I am only bringing this up to provide you a new perspective, which you appeared to be lacking. The issue is less the displays and more people insisting I (and other people like me) have no reason to be upset, and that my issue with it is trivial.

I urge you to question why expressing your joy in this manner is so important if it hurts other people. You certainly don't have to stop, but perhaps you could be more compassionate.


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## GoldenPumpkin (Oct 10, 2015)

Greenwick said:


> You shouldn't assume I'm a negative person because of this. I am only bringing this up to provide you a new perspective, which you appeared to be lacking. The issue is less the displays and more people insisting I (and other people like me) have no reason to be upset, and that my issue with it is trivial.
> 
> I urge you to question why expressing your joy in this manner is so important if it hurts other people. You certainly don't have to stop, but perhaps you could be more compassionate.



I don't understand, are you saying that wishing people Merry Christmas at Christmas time is hurtful?


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

I'm saying it can be. You mentioned that your husband's workplace insisted on Happy Holidays in the same post you were saying people were easily offended and looking for an excuse to complain about other people's joy. It really wouldn't be an issue if there were not "War on Christmas" people complaining so loudly. So my point is not that no one should wish anyone a Merry Christmas, but that people shouldn't be belittled for asking for a secular workplaces & decorations on government property. 

Does that make sense? it's something I've had trouble explaining to other people in the past.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

What were we talking about again?


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## TheHalloweenGuru (Sep 17, 2015)

Lol The school should be glad they don't have me as a neighbor if THIS offends them


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

Madame Leota said:


> What were we talking about again?


The shocking revelation that Christmas greetings lead to time spent on a shrink's couch, I want to say


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## Nebulosity (Jul 6, 2010)

I despise censorship, so I'm glad the city council supported the home owner. I also question anyone whose first response is to go to the government rather than attempt to talk to the homeowner first. Having said that, I do wish they'd have some sensitivity in setting up their display.

Personally, I have no issue with scaring kids. Kids get scared of the dumbest things. My nephew was scared of new clothes - they had to sit in his dresser or closet for a while before he'd touch them. My sister got nightmares from watching Ghost Busters even when she was "too old" for such things. My friends and I really freaked each other out at a slumber party convincing ourselves there was a "demon" after us. Actually, we did that a few times. In the neighborhood kids told the story of a house behind a fence that would cut off the heads of children who dared to look over the fence and they really freaked out some of the other kids.

What I don't want to do is disturb a child. I don't have kids of my own so I don't know where exactly that line is but sexually explicit material would fall into that category.


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## slash (Sep 9, 2010)

Looks like she decided to take it down. I think she should of just left the display up she said it was her the safety of her family she did not get any threat but some people showed up after midnight and were taking pics, guess that was a line they crossed.

http://fox8.com/2015/10/11/parma-family-choosing-to-remove-controversial-halloween-display-for-their-own-safety/#ooid=kybmU1eDoMn7GiLENuPtr2o7Bd79rW3g


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## oaklawn Crematory (Jun 25, 2010)

Boy....I might be in real trouble this year......


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## HalloGeekHalfrican (Sep 1, 2013)

DeadED said:


> Yea there was nothing much to it. If her daughter thought they were real. Why not be a parent that explains what it is. I know. I know... easier to blame someone else then it is to be a parent


I completely agree. People are getting too soft. It's Halloween; it's supposed to be scary, not cute. And I guarantee those kids are seeing a lot worse things on the TV and internet.


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## Bruzilla (Jun 3, 2011)

Wow... and to think I got worried that people would be upset by our Dog Soldiers werewolf having pubic hair.  I'm thinking we need to go back to the good old days of vaguery when pornography was defined as "I know it when I see it". I think we can give folks a very wide array of latitude when it comes to decorations, and if a majority of folks have no issues, but a few do, then screw the few. They most likely do a lot of things that offend me. But in the case of this house, I think a lot of what they've done is over-the-top. It looks like it's meant to offend more than scare, and that's not the point of Halloween.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

HalloGeekHalfrican said:


> I completely agree. People are getting too soft. It's Halloween; it's supposed to be scary, not cute. And I guarantee those kids are seeing a lot worse things on the TV and internet.


Worse than that? Not if their parents are present they're not. Tweens, maybe, I don't have one of those. Most of the children who go to that school are not seeing things like that on a regular basis, sorry.


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## Allen Robinson (Oct 12, 2015)

Id leave it up.. looks great!


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

The Halloween all of us celebrate has absolutely nothing to do with the pagan festival that inspired it. The same with Christmas. Lit up and decorated pine trees as a key element of an event that was supposed to have occurred in Bethlehem? 

Kids do sometimes have fears of benign things. So do adults. Do you know there is actually a phobia that is a fear of buttons? You can't please all of the people all of the time and censorship is a steep and slippery slope.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

They got their moment in the spotlight, and then they got to look like nice, sensitve-to-the-kids people by voluntarily toning down the display. It's over and done with, and I imagine they got exactly what they wanted out of it. 

I gotta say though, a kid being afraid when they see the form of a child tortured and murdered is a little different from being afraid of buttons. Real people who do that sort of deliberate harm to children aren't very common, but unlike_ active_ killer buttons, they do exist. I personally would have a less negative reaction to a graphic depiction of a werewolf feeding on person.


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

ooojen said:


> They got their moment in the spotlight, and then they got to look like nice, sensitve-to-the-kids people by voluntarily toning down the display. It's over and done with, and I imagine they got exactly what they wanted out of it.
> 
> I gotta say though, a kid being afraid when they see the form of a child tortured and murdered is a little different from being afraid of buttons. Real people who do that sort of deliberate harm to children aren't very common, but unlike_ active_ killer buttons, they do exist. I personally would have a less negative reaction to a graphic depiction of a werewolf feeding on person.


Obviously, I was being facetious to make a point. Sheesh!


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Yes, I realized you were being facetious. I answered in kind. *My* point was that imaginary "dangers" (werewolves, vampires) are easier for kids to process (and the more appropriate arena to "toughen up") than potentially real, if unlikely, dangers.


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

What about all the severed arms, legs and heads that kids see in stores during the Halloween season? Real dangers.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

Context. Yeah, they're not great, but they're just on a rack, not nailed to an upside down cross or impaled with a knife in their throat. Spiders scare the heck out of me when I find them in unexpected places or they jump out at me. I can handle them just fine curled up in their very fake glory on a rack at Walmart. Context!


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

It depends. Were they cut off by a deranged killer, or chewed off by a werewolf who got too full to finish?


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## Palladino (Aug 29, 2013)

ooojen said:


> it depends. Were they cut off by a deranged killer, or chewed off by a werewolf who got too full to finish?


lol!!!


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

HalloGeekHalfrican said:


> People are getting too soft. It's Halloween; it's supposed to be scary, not cute. And I guarantee those kids are seeing a lot worse things on the TV and internet.


Children whose parents are actually parenting do NOT see worse stuff than this on the tv & internet. And as someone mentioned on this thread previously, the display near an elementary school certainly makes this tough for parents who also have to bring along even younger siblings to school-related events or pickups. Again, my perspective is colored by the fact that my kids are 4 and almost 2. Despite my explanations of stuff being pretend or deliberately scary, visual images are a really strong thing for little kids to process. In cases like this, my desire for free speech & expression absolutely wars with my own desire to protect my children from graphic images. 

Also as mentioned, I completely agree that truly pretend visuals - ie, a werewolf - is much preferable to a realistic display when it comes to being on *public* view, especially in instances near schools or playgrounds. Heck, I'm a lot happier as an adult to watch pretend zombies on tv try to kill people rather than watching realistic war movies with bombs & guns. 

And just to throw in my two cents on the related/unrelated issue of holiday greetings - I'm not Jewish, but if someone wished me a Happy Hannukah, I'd be thrilled that they were being polite and I'd say it right back! I love to say Happy Holidays because I feel like it encompasses the whole month of festivities, and there's nothing political about it. Politeness goes a long way with me & I enjoy it when people wish me a "happy" anything!


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

UPDATE:

http://fox8.com/2015/10/11/parma-fa...rsial-halloween-display-for-their-own-safety/



> ARMA, OH – Vicki Barrett’s front yard now sits empty after her she decided to take down her controversial Halloween display.
> 
> She said she was getting too much attention and it made her family feel unsafe.
> 
> ...


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## Jenn&MattFromPA (Sep 4, 2013)

I think that's too bad that they aren't going to do anything, but I understand that doing "traditional" isn't their vibe. 
I think it's frustrating, in a way, that they took down their display for worry over their own children's safety, but that it was someone else's worry over THEIR child's safety that started the complaint. Yes, they might have been different KINDS of worry, but worrying about your kids is a universal theme for parents & it's too bad that this couldn't just be handled thoughtfully & cooperatively between people. Couldn't there have been some form of compromise here?

I wonder if they will do anything next year.


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

Jenn&MattFromPA said:


> I think that's too bad that they aren't going to do anything, but I understand that doing "traditional" isn't their vibe.
> I think it's frustrating, in a way, that they took down their display for worry over their own children's safety, but that it was someone else's worry over THEIR child's safety that started the complaint. Yes, they might have been different KINDS of worry, but worrying about your kids is a universal theme for parents & it's too bad that this couldn't just be handled thoughtfully & cooperatively between people. Couldn't there have been some form of compromise here?
> 
> I wonder if they will do anything next year.


I'm sorry they're not doing anything at all now.

I'd love to see them join this board & learn how to do scary &/or even gory without an inverted cross & crucifixion & what appears to be an impaled child. I really wish they'd done practically anything else. 

Although I freely admit there was a time in my 20s when I would have done & have done something similar, except I used a vampire in front of an inverted cross or zombie instead.

Look at some of Pumpkinrot's stuff. It's scary, creepy even a tad gory at times but not bloody. I bet if there was a yard full of his stuff instead of what this family chose there wouldn't be nearly as much hoopla.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Yeah, that is interesting indeed, that they're worried for their kids' safety despite the fact that no threats were made against them-- just because there were people in their yard. That isn't an uncommon sort of occurrance in an urban setting. I hope they're genuinely concerned about their kids' emotional well-being, though the cynical side of me suspects the martyr card is trump in this game.


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## Goog (Sep 3, 2012)

I find the display distasteful, but they were certainly within their rights to have it. I'm glad that the city said that they weren't going to do anything about it due to right to freedom of expression. It's too bad that they felt that their safety and the safety of their children was at risk. 

On the topic of holiday greetings, I don't see anything wrong with a business asking their employees to stick with neutral greetings like Happy Holidays. They are usually trying to cater to a large demographic and no matter what they say someone will be offended. The neutral greeting supposedly minimizes the risk of offense. Personally, I just appreciate being greeted around the holiday season and don't care if it pertains to a holiday that I celebrate or not. I'll return the greeting in kind and.


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## Goog (Sep 3, 2012)

sorry for the double post


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

ooojen said:


> Yeah, that is interesting indeed, that they're worried for their kids' safety despite the fact that no threats were made against them-- just because there were people in their yard. That isn't an uncommon sort of occurrance in an urban setting. I hope they're genuinely concerned about their kids' emotional well-being, though the cynical side of me suspects the martyr card is trump in this game.


Yeah, that's the feeling I get from it too.  They got what they wanted which was press and are now taking it down and attempting to play the victim card. Really not buying it. I've said it before, if that's what they wanted to do for halloween and create a cool enclosed walk through for older kids and adults who appreciate that kind of thing, have at, but for a front yard display where little blue haired old ladies and small children can be horrified into nightmares it was far too much.

EDIT: I think people are drawing the wrong conclusions from my protesting of the content of their haunt/display. I by no means want local government to come in and change rules and tell people of that community/county/state what they can and cannot put on their lawns. It is my opinion only that what they put up violates an unwritten standard of what is appropriate for public consumption based both on my personal views and some written standards for other types of media. There are places for local government to step in and this isn't one of them. What i was looking for to happen did - it got some press, and there was public pressure and disapproval of the display in question and that it was taken down in response to that disapproval (another thing I don't buy about the video "we're not bowing to peer pressure, we're protecting our family." You go special snowflake, stand up to the man, but protect your family from non-existant threats.). I do not want rights taken away, I do not want governments governing what we cannot put on lawns, and conversely I would prefer that if governments put things on their lawns that they do so in an inclusive way, by keeping things as religiously and politically neutral as possible, while still being festive. Holidays should be inclusive not exclusive. By that same token, I would also hope that homeowners (read persons who decorate their homes) have at least a care and thought for their neighbors when creating their displays. Is this appropriate for the average viewer, is my display going to greatly inconvenience my neighbors (lights at odd hours, excessive sound) should be two considerations that should be up there with theme, power consumption, layout etc. Ultimately this is why I object so strongly to the above display. A display like that one had no regard to their neighbors, and ultimately hurts us as haunters. Because when one of us is apparently a jerk to families with small children it paints us all with that brush, and displays like that, while it didn't happen here, could ruin the fun for the rest of us if law enforcement and government does get involved. 

/end soapbox


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## oaklawn Crematory (Jun 25, 2010)

ooojen said:


> I hope they're genuinely concerned about their kids' emotional well-being, though the cynical side of me suspects the martyr card is trump in this game.


Editorial note: Sadly, euchre is a dying game. When you say, "Trump card", a great deal of the new generational may believe you are referring to "The Donald" rather than us "old people" who know you got the Jack.

Ok, nothing more to see her, move along.


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## Greenwick (Apr 25, 2013)

oaklawn Crematory said:


> Editorial note: Sadly, euchre is a dying game. When you say, "Trump card", a great deal of the new generational may believe you are referring to "The Donald" rather than us "old people" who know you got the Jack.
> 
> Ok, nothing more to see her, move along.


I'm 30, and I was aware of this phrase before I knew about the Donald. Didn't know where it came from. Thanks for the newt factoid!


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## chachabella (Jul 3, 2013)

oaklawn Crematory said:


> Editorial note: Sadly, euchre is a dying game. When you say, "Trump card", a great deal of the new generational may believe you are referring to "The Donald" rather than us "old people" who know you got the Jack.
> 
> Ok, nothing more to see her, move along.


Playing card games with my grandparents taught me the term <3


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

lol omg this is so crazy..


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## HalloweenieChallenge (Oct 8, 2014)

Hold on guys...

That news piece was extremely censored.

I saw more detailed pictures of their decorations earlier today somewhere else on the internet - and man - to me it was totally cringeworthy.

They have hypodermic needles jabbed into the mannequins' necks - which to me really looked like they were suggesting drug use and drug overdose.

Which you probably don't want right across from an elementary school.

I really didn't see anything very "Halloween" in their decorations-


I mean there is Halloween gore and then there is this. I really think they took it too far. Tasteless in my opinion.


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

Being "creative", I would have taken the bodies down then re-displayed them in my home's picture window.
I would paint big smiles on their faces and have a slow windshield motor cranking waving hands.
"We are OK,we hope you are OK too!"

.. of course small kids might be really frightened then... "They WERE Real People!"


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## Mad Mad Mark (Oct 24, 2009)

Oh please. I had a situation like this about my yard haunt a few years back. One wacky church lady went to the cops over it because her oh so delicate 10 Yr. old son was disturbed by it. Cops told her to deal with it!


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## Berserker (Sep 4, 2012)

people suck... the ones that complain who have to have everyone conform to their standards are just worthless pieces of garbage.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

Berserker said:


> people suck... the ones that complain who have to have everyone conform to their standards are just worthless pieces of garbage.


You mean, like those people who think that everyone should have a thick enough skin to be ok with seeing an impaled and tormented child displayed in public, children included? I totally agree.

Wait, you were probably talking about those who insisted that the display was too graphic and should come down. It goes both ways. Both groups are telling the other to suck it up and conform, one because "you can see images like that in other places" and the other "because children don't need ot see images like that". They're both insisting that people conform to their standards. So who's right?


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## Gym Whourlfeld (Jan 22, 2003)

How many guns,shots, Deaths do children have to see on Tv,movies, video Games?
The most huge ,Wrong thing was when I was a kid, somebody got shot,clubbed and they died seemingly painlessly and very quickly,"saying" it was acceptable,because there was no screaming, no blood to be seen or family members agonizing for long time periods,so it must be "OK" to kill someone, or at least more pleasant?
"Peter Gun"-Detective Show had a lazy plot vehicle that had him getting clubbed on the head almost every show. In real life that Detective would have been in a wheelchair or begging for $ on the street after maybe the 10th concussion.
But it's acceptable to bash someone in the head.. because the show's writers were too lazy to come up with any other ideas.


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## lovbyts (Oct 4, 2015)

HalloweenieChallenge said:


> Hold on guys...
> 
> That news piece was extremely censored.
> 
> ...


So you are saying you dont want kids to see/think that drug use may lead to death? Yeah maybe we should just let them experiment and find out for themselves? lol

I posted on the FB page saying if they lived near me they would see a lot worse and for Christmas I would do a crashed Santa's sleigh with bloody reindeer, broken legs and antlers and santa impaled on a fence. lol


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I rather like getting along with my neighbors. When our dog was a puppy and occasionally strayed beyond the borders of our land, no one got in a lather. If some neighbor saw suspicious activity at our place when they knew we were gone, they'd undoubtedly check into it. If our house burned down, I'm quite sure they'd show up with blankets and offers of help. There are a lot of rewards that come with being socially acceptable. In my case, I know the rewards more than compensate for any Free Expression that I might wind up reining in in the interest of not being offensive to the people around me.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

http://www.halloweenforum.com/gener...-conn-school-district-lets-assist-change.html

this is how all this the above ends up..


thank the overlords for getting the parade back.. but as you can see it goes too far


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

whichypoo said:


> http://www.halloweenforum.com/gener...-conn-school-district-lets-assist-change.html
> 
> this is how all this the above ends up..
> 
> ...


And displays like that are not helping. If haunters keep in mind that their content is to be consumed by everyone, you don't have lawmakers trying to shut down all haunts, or banning x item because people can't be reasonable with it. It's not the haunt that everyone loves that gets other people shut down, it's the haunt that causes the pearl clutching that gets the ink flowing.


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## whichypoo (Jul 29, 2009)

never know I just hope things never get bad


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

If this house had been in my (very sedate, bedroom-community, 70s suburbia) neighborhood, most of the kids would have been terrified of it...more than half of the terrified would claim to be cavalier but would not be willing to go past the house after dark, or alone...kids would have dared one another to go up on the lawn, the one to accept the dare would have run up, touched one prop and run off with his hair standing straight up and every pore dripping, secretly vowing never to do that again while he puffed up his chest saying "piece of cake" to his friends...groups would have dared one another to ring the bell and trick-or-treat...a few of us would have woken up in a cold sweat thinking about the horrors lurking in That House Next Door...

...and it would have become legend.

And we would have loved every. Single. Minute of it.


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

^ Oops...with that said, no, I don't do this kind of display. I'm an old lady and I love the "oldie" stuff...witches, black cats, skeletons (usually propped in a funny display, one year I had two climbing my house, another year I had one lifting a Mountain Dew can in salute to passers-by, and I put my "passenger" skellie in my car already to "wave" at other drivers), Frankenstein, Hammer-style Dracula, terrors that are more terrifying because you can't actually see them, so they're even more terrifying in the imagination. I like suspense more than gore, possibilities more so than in-your-face props. 

But who am I to say that's what Halloween "should" be? Halloween is about pushing the envelope, and it's also about bringing to the foreground taboo subjects that we hide the rest of the year: death, decay, fear, "the worst possible thing" that you always hoped wouldn't happen, happening. Halloween didn't have very delicate child-friendly beginnings and I feel the idea is still (no matter how one celebrates and/or displays it...unless for religious reasons, i.e. Samhain) to touch the totally untouchable and to bring the unmentionable out of its usual neat little hiding place.

Therefore, I don't think it's really my right to say "H'ween should be scary, but not TOO scary...some blood, but not when it's babies...or some other category I feel is inappropriate...should only be displayed outside of X yards beyond a school, park or playground," etc. I understand people feel strongly about this from all different angles so I won't judge people's thoughts, but I will say this much: when the "frightened" little girl helpfully suggested pink skulls and tiny skeletons I kind of cracked up (because I mean, it can't possibly be a blatant display of death and beyond-rot decay if it's pink or small).


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## "i got a rock!" (Apr 20, 2013)

lighten up! Its Halloween! It only goes too far if you bring attention to this non-story!
I've seen this display first hand, my brother lives 10 minutes from here, they have been doing it for years its not that bad. 
The sad part is the family was threatened over a halloween display!! I'm sure glad I have awesome neighbors, I don't have to worry about this nonsense!!


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## sumrtym (Aug 16, 2008)

Ok, I personally didn't care for their display. I like to say I'm not a gore guy. However, I still think Pumpkinrot's 2009 decoration lives up there as one of my favorites EVER. How does it compare on the "too much for kids scale"? Is this over the top / shouldn't be done? I find his bodies far more realistic than the ones in the OP, and probably more disturbing to kids, and yet I'd LOVE to have Pumpkinrot's display on Halloween! So, I have to ask myself, is it really gore that's the problem, or aesthetics / poor execution? Or is it the fact one speaks pure Halloween to me and the other does not? I think for ME, it's the fact I don't really see much of Halloween in their display.


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## LadyMage (Aug 15, 2014)

See, this display I can get behind. Yes, it's scary as hell, but it doesn't have the realism element. It's removed far enough from a reality that while it'll scare little kids, it's a fun scare, not a rob them of their innocence scare.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Also, I don't think Pumpkinrot's display is right across from an elementary school-- or in anyone's face. I'm under the impression that you'd have to seek it out if you were going to be lucky enough to see it. While I love Pumpkinrot's setup, I wouldn't have run my 5 year old (when she _was_ 5) past it or through it every day (even if that were an option).

LadyMage made an excellent observation; it's the people who strive to offend that wind up triggering ruin-things-for-everyone responses.


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## skunkman (Apr 23, 2014)

Witches, ghosts, zombies, air cannons, jumping spiders, even pirates.....90% of what we do is designed to scare. I personally don't like that display - just not my taste. I don't think they should have to remove it however. I have a Halloween party for adults every year and my entrance is usually scary to some level. Last year (and this year) my door entrance is the mouth of a scary clown. I'm certain some kid could get scared by it. If you don't like it don't look at it.

BTW, I live near Universal Studios and thousands of people each year pay big bucks to get scared at Halloween Horror Nights. The majority of people enjoy being scared in a controlled environment.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Like I said before, they can do what they want, but I don't see any décor in that yard that seems to celebrate Halloween.

Looks more to me like " Mafia Hit-Man Appreciation Day" décor.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

It does seem to be the majority opinion-- Don't much like it, but I guess it's their prerogative. It's rather like looking at the sartorial choices in a People of Walmart clip. Not _*my*_ choice. I hate for my kids to be exposed to it. ...but they're entitled if they want to.


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## slash (Sep 9, 2010)

Display is back up Im glad they should not of took it down.

http://fox8.com/2015/10/19/parma-family-puts-controversial-halloween-display-back-up/


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## ichasiris (Aug 8, 2014)

People will get their panties in a twist about anything. Remember the zombie nativity scene guy last year?

I bet the lady made it so gruesome on purpose for publicity, hahaha. I think it's cool looking, but I'm also desensitized as I watch absurd amounts of horror movies. There are worse things in this world that are on public display.....

I also found it funny how the one news station said they couldn't show some of it because it was "too graphic." Yet they show war and violence on the news daily.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

So they've made the news again. How nice for them.


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## Vex_Nightshade (Sep 19, 2015)

Only seen the small snippets on those news clips but it does seem a bit much. As others said, the symbols used and the lack of other "decoration like" stuff makes it seem a very odd display to me. Screams attention-seeking.
Ok as part of a haunted house or "murder scene" display, or even indoors, but just throwing up 2 life-like dolls being impaled,on your front garden, seems a bit uncalled for.


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## Fester (Jun 11, 2015)

Freedoms are certainly being tested aren't they ?


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## Nevar (Oct 28, 2009)

I love scary stuff, my yard is full of it. While I would not put out " some " of there stuff. I support them for doing it.
When is it enough of the P.C. bull. of That offends me. You don't like someones yard. Do not look.


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## ReelSore (Jan 19, 2015)

Nevar said:


> I love scary stuff, my yard is full of it. While I would not put out " some " of there stuff. I support them for doing it.
> When is it enough of the P.C. bull. of That offends me. You don't like someones yard. Do not look.


+1

It's not even close to what you see on the TV or internet now a days.


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## Wolfman (Apr 15, 2004)

I'm with Mme. Leota on this. These guys carry gore a little too far. Try something difficult next year...how ' bout "Atmosphere".....


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## Ugly Joe (Jan 13, 2004)

I would like to hope that these people who want to put up a display that's going to knowingly cause consternation in their neighborhood and town, will have the common decency to never
...and I mean never...
complain about anything that anyone else puts on display.

But I know that's too much to ask for.


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