Sinister-Inspired Halloween Decorations Draw Public Outrage
John Squires
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Horror movie opening scenes don’t get much more chilling than Sinister‘s, wherein an entire family is hanged from a creepy looking tree. One homeowner seems to have used that scene as inspiration for his Halloween yard decor this season, and those who live in the area are none too pleased about it.
Like in Sinister, the eye-catching display depicts a family hanging from a tree, their hands tied behind their backs. Though the homeowner insists the display is a harmless bit of Halloween fun, not everyone sees it that way, and many have gone so far as to label him a racist.
Website Raw Story brought this one to our attention, and even they seem to be convinced that the display depicts a “black family” being lynched. Of course, anyone with a little bit of common sense knows that those are garbage bags over the heads of the faux people, and not “black face” disguises, though common sense is often thrown out the window in issues of outrage.
Making this story all the more interesting is the fact that the home is situated on a military base at Fort Campbell, between Kentucky and Tennessee. Though the homeowner (a soldier) knows that his intentions weren’t evil, he nevertheless apologized and took the display down, per the insistence of military officials.
The right-wing Modern American Revolution group came to the defense of the man, noting that the display was clearly inspired by Sinister, wherein a white family was killed by an unseen figure. “Anyone who tries to say this is racist is wrong,” said the group.
Whether Sinister was the inspiration or not, I personally see nothing even remotely racist about the display. Halloween stores have been selling decorations of hanged victims for as long as those stores have existed, and to make such decorations out to be racist is infusing racism into a situation where it’s the furthest thing from an issue.
If the first thing you think when you see this display is “blacks!,” then perhaps it’s you who are the racist one.
What do you make of this controversy? Sound off below!
Categorized:News
