A Halloween display outside a home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is drawing backlash from some residents and the local NAACP, which says the decorations evoke America’s painful history of racial violence.
The display, outside a home in Bristol Borough, features what appear to be bodies wrapped in black bags hanging from a tree.
While the homeowner considers the decorations part of a spooky Halloween setup, others say the imagery is deeply troubling.
“I’m just looking at it and I’m just thinking to him, like, ‘do you not see what’s wrong with this?'” Bristol Borough resident Roshea Newkirk said.
The Bucks County NAACP has called on the homeowner to voluntarily remove or modify the decorations.
In a statement posted on social media, the organization said the imagery evokes the country’s history of lynching and racial terror. While Halloween decorations are often intended to frighten or shock, the organization emphasized that “intent does not erase impact.”
The controversy also reached a Bristol Borough Council meeting this week, where officials confirmed that the borough had already contacted the homeowner about the display.
“Just so you know, our borough inspector did stop there and talk to him, but we were unsuccessful,” an official said during the meeting.
When asked what that meant, the official explained that the homeowner did not want to remove the decorations.
“He feels they’re Halloween decorations and he won’t take them down. And we don’t have an ordinance against anything like that,” the official said.
NBC10 also spoke with the homeowner off camera. He said he purchased the decorations as a kit online and never intended to offend anyone.
Not everyone in the neighborhood finds the display offensive.
“At first I looked at it, and it’s a little bit different. Like, but then I’m looking, it’s Halloween. My house is scary. My house is always scary. It’s always set up scary. Same thing. Dead bodies laying around, skeletons. It’s Halloween,” Bristol Borough resident Mike Wade said.
For now, the decorations remain in place as the Bucks County NAACP continues to call for their removal or modification.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
