Lakewood Neighbors Freaked Out, Offended By Hanging Frankenstein
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's not your typical Halloween decoration. In one Lakewood neighborhood, a Frankenstein in overalls hangs from a noose attached to a tree. Some neighbors say it's time for it to come down.
"The first time I drove past it, I did a double, triple take," says Sloan Dix.
Dix calls this holiday decoration disturbing - in more than a Halloween fright sort of way.
"I respect people's wish to decorate their house the way they want for Halloween, but this feels like it takes it to a different level," she says. "The problem is from far away, it looks like something different."
A figure hanging from a tree, some say, connotes a painful chapter in American history, and is at best insensitive.
"The rights of a homeowner, a white person in particular, to hang a decoration up like this have got to give way to the sensitivity we should have for all of our neighbors," says neighbor George Mason.
"I just hate it. It brings up bad things in our history," says neighbor Kim Mason.
Others call that an overreaction and say it's the homeowners' right to decorate how they choose.
"It's their house, and it's Halloween. People can decorate. I don't want someone to tell me how I can decorate for Christmas," says Terry Lane.
Some neighbors said the homeowner is being bullied. She's had the decoration for 40 years and has told neighbors it brings her grandkids joy. Others hope she will adjust with the times.
"Even though it is a Frankenstein, could it not just be standing in their front yard?," asked Dix.
CBS 11 News tried to ask the homeowner for comment, but no one has answered the door.
