An Australian mother’s attempt to embrace the American tradition of Halloween and turn her house into a scary retreat has gone way too far this week.
WARNING: This story contains an image that some people may find distressing.
Cobwebs, spider webs, ghouls and even ghosts made ostensibly from sheets are commonplace in Australia at Halloween. However, the “zombie” creation by Renée Ryan, from Forbes, a town 374km west of Sydney’s CBD, brought complaints that forced her to take it down.
Renée said she spent three hours with her son making a lifelike figure, resembling a “zombie”, from foam, carpet, garbage bags and wrapped in hessian pet beds which was hung on the Hills Hoist.
If you wish to see the image, click here.
“It was a sort of memory that I was trying to create with my son – he had been so excited about Halloween coming up,” she said.
“We had been watching YouTube videos and it was just made in good fun.”
However, police called in on her twice after reports of a “body hanging from a tree”. On the second visit, she agreed to take it down.
“The display had unintentionally triggered members of the community with their own experiences of suicide,” she said on Facebook.
“I completely understand – it was never out of malice and I do apologise for that.”
A legal expert told the ABC that homeowners need to exercise “reasonable sensibility” when it comes to decorating their properties – hanging out some lollies for the neighbours is probably a safer bet.
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