Gruesome Halloween display scares kids near elementary school

PARMA, Ohio -For a few, Halloween isn’t just about princess costumes and an excess of sugary candies.

A couple in Parma, Ohio has constructed a Halloween display so realistic and gruesome that it’s striking fear into their neighbors.

“Shock. You take a double take because it is a very realistic display”.

The display includes a man crucified upside down and what appears to be a body wrapped in plastic hanging upside down from a tree. Needless to say, it’s no G-rated affair.

Her mother, Jackie Anselmo, told the station that she was so horrified by the display that she took photos of the yard to send to city officials in an attempt to enlist their help to have it removed.

The Parma resident said she and several other neighbors are bothered by how graphic the display is and that it’s so close to the elementary school.

But the city said there is nothing they can do about it, because it is freedom of expression.

She did say she would be willing to “tone it down” if she learns it’s scaring too many school children. She says, “We don’t want to scare kids”.

Barrett says said not taking it down, “When we put up the display, I don’t think we even considered that there was a school there”. “We just want to do the Halloween fun of it and but definitely no ill intent, no”, explained Vicki Barrett.

Parent Julie Austin is on Barrett’s side; she said that her child knows make-believe from real, and isn’t afraid of the display. She said it’s the parents job to tell their kids it’s fake. It’s Halloween. I don’t see a problem with it. My daughter has watched Nightmare on Elm Street and she’s seven.