What lengths people will go to to use the freedom of speech, get attention drawn to themselves. In fact the 16 yr old girl Darla (I think that is her name) wants to do another display next year. I believe that her display was auctioned or sold and the profit will go to some sorta charity?
Anyone else familiar with the story? heres some reading ----->
Bloody Santa Display With Severed Doll Heads Angers Neighborhood
A family's display featuring a bloody Santa Claus wielding a knife, beheaded Barbie dolls and a severed head with blood gushing from its eyes has scared children and angered some homeowners in a New York neighborhood, according to a Local 6 News report.
The display, which can be easily seen by neighbors on East 18th Street in New York, was put up by Joel Krupnik, his wife and daughter.
A tree next to the blood-cover Santa Claus has doll heads attached to its branches.
"It's just something, maybe, to spice up a little bit the neighborhood and that's it," Krupnik said. "And I think we've succeeded in doing that."
The Krupnik family said their display protests the commercialization of Christmas.
Neighbors said the family took their appreciation for the dark side too far this time.
"This is the pits," neighbor Anna Grohs said.
The family's 16-year-old daughter came up with the idea for the display, according to the report. She said she based the scene on a movie, "Silent Night, Deadly Night."
A neighbor said she went to police and was told the display could not be removed.
"I can't believe that I'm looking at something like this," neighbor Paul Deremer said.
Macabre Santa display in NYC draws stares
Mansion scene includes knife-wielding St. Nick, Barbies with severed heads
NEW YORK - It’s usually easy to tell where a person stands in the culture wars, but whose side is someone on when his Christmas decor is a blood-spattered Santa Claus holding a severed head?
Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos decked the front of their Manhattan mansion this year with a scene that includes a knife-wielding 5-foot-tall St. Nick and a tree full of decapitated Barbie dolls. Hidden partly behind a tree, a merry old elf grasps a disembodied doll’s head with fake blood streaming from its eye sockets.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Krupnik explained that his family thought it would be a fun way to make a comment about the commercialization and secularization of Christmas.
“It is a religious holiday, but they have turned it into a business. And it shouldn’t be,” he said. “We didn’t put it up to offend anybody. It was just something that came out of our imagination.”
More than a few people passing by the brownstone were a little puzzled about the message behind the massacre.
Peter Nardoza, 81, of Manhattan, shook his head and chuckled. “Sick, sick, sick,” he said. “What kind of a world is this that we live in?”
Ronnie Santiago, a deliveryman on his route, speculated that something bad must have happened once to the homeowner at Christmas. A few spectators wondered whether the campy gore would bother children.
The family is far from the only one making an editorial comment this year about how Americans celebrate Christmas, although it may be the only one doing it by depicting Santa Claus as a killer.
Pope Benedict XVI complained this week that Christmas festivities have been “subjected to a sort of commercial pollution.” Christian conservatives have launched campaigns to reintroduce a religious component to Christmastime decor in schools and public squares, chiding even President Bush this year for sending out cards wishing supporters a happy “holiday season.”
But despite the home’s gruesome exterior, some visitors appreciated it.
Bucky Turco, 31, of Manhattan, said the display captured how he felt when watching someone costumed as SpongeBob SquarePants promote products at Rockefeller Center.
“This is brilliant,” said Turco.
Walter Garofalo, a musician from Brooklyn who wandered by wearing a black bandanna covered in skulls, was awe-struck.
“I wonder if these people would let me use this as our next album cover,” he said. “It’s perfect!”
Homeowner Hangs Bound, Blindfolded Santa From Tree
Neighbors Call Police Over Creepy Santa
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- In one South Florida community, a man's holiday decorations are causing holiday fear for local children instead of creating holiday cheer.
Residents called police and complained to the city that a house in Miami Beach had a life-sized, blindfolded Santa Claus doll hanging from a tree with its hands tied.
Some residents were furious and said their naughty neighbor put jolly old St. Nick in a position that is not too merry. But even police officers couldn't save a Santa who was bound, gagged and hanging for the holidays.
The owner of the house said it's freedom of speech. But his neighbors think it's the start of a creepy Christmas.
"It's not healthy. I mean, if somebody has something against Santa Claus or something, maybe express it in some other way," resident Lori Vega said.
Parents are afraid the decoration will cause a nightmare before Christmas for their children.
"I'm not sure what his reasoning is, but a lot of little kids are upset by it," one parent said.
The owner of the house said the Santa Claus was an artistic expression.
Some residents said the damage is already done.
"He might be the Grinch. He might be friendly with the Grinch," resident Joanie Stein said. Stein, who has lived on the block for years, said the dangling Santa sickens him. "It's a beautiful neighborhood and I think it's just weird. I've never seen anything like this here."
The homeowner said the hanged Santa Claus would be down by Wednesday.
Anyone else familiar with the story? heres some reading ----->
Bloody Santa Display With Severed Doll Heads Angers Neighborhood
A family's display featuring a bloody Santa Claus wielding a knife, beheaded Barbie dolls and a severed head with blood gushing from its eyes has scared children and angered some homeowners in a New York neighborhood, according to a Local 6 News report.
The display, which can be easily seen by neighbors on East 18th Street in New York, was put up by Joel Krupnik, his wife and daughter.
A tree next to the blood-cover Santa Claus has doll heads attached to its branches.
"It's just something, maybe, to spice up a little bit the neighborhood and that's it," Krupnik said. "And I think we've succeeded in doing that."
The Krupnik family said their display protests the commercialization of Christmas.
Neighbors said the family took their appreciation for the dark side too far this time.
"This is the pits," neighbor Anna Grohs said.
The family's 16-year-old daughter came up with the idea for the display, according to the report. She said she based the scene on a movie, "Silent Night, Deadly Night."
A neighbor said she went to police and was told the display could not be removed.
"I can't believe that I'm looking at something like this," neighbor Paul Deremer said.
Macabre Santa display in NYC draws stares
Mansion scene includes knife-wielding St. Nick, Barbies with severed heads
NEW YORK - It’s usually easy to tell where a person stands in the culture wars, but whose side is someone on when his Christmas decor is a blood-spattered Santa Claus holding a severed head?
Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos decked the front of their Manhattan mansion this year with a scene that includes a knife-wielding 5-foot-tall St. Nick and a tree full of decapitated Barbie dolls. Hidden partly behind a tree, a merry old elf grasps a disembodied doll’s head with fake blood streaming from its eye sockets.
In a telephone interview Wednesday, Krupnik explained that his family thought it would be a fun way to make a comment about the commercialization and secularization of Christmas.
“It is a religious holiday, but they have turned it into a business. And it shouldn’t be,” he said. “We didn’t put it up to offend anybody. It was just something that came out of our imagination.”
More than a few people passing by the brownstone were a little puzzled about the message behind the massacre.
Peter Nardoza, 81, of Manhattan, shook his head and chuckled. “Sick, sick, sick,” he said. “What kind of a world is this that we live in?”
Ronnie Santiago, a deliveryman on his route, speculated that something bad must have happened once to the homeowner at Christmas. A few spectators wondered whether the campy gore would bother children.
The family is far from the only one making an editorial comment this year about how Americans celebrate Christmas, although it may be the only one doing it by depicting Santa Claus as a killer.
Pope Benedict XVI complained this week that Christmas festivities have been “subjected to a sort of commercial pollution.” Christian conservatives have launched campaigns to reintroduce a religious component to Christmastime decor in schools and public squares, chiding even President Bush this year for sending out cards wishing supporters a happy “holiday season.”
But despite the home’s gruesome exterior, some visitors appreciated it.
Bucky Turco, 31, of Manhattan, said the display captured how he felt when watching someone costumed as SpongeBob SquarePants promote products at Rockefeller Center.
“This is brilliant,” said Turco.
Walter Garofalo, a musician from Brooklyn who wandered by wearing a black bandanna covered in skulls, was awe-struck.
“I wonder if these people would let me use this as our next album cover,” he said. “It’s perfect!”
Homeowner Hangs Bound, Blindfolded Santa From Tree
Neighbors Call Police Over Creepy Santa
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- In one South Florida community, a man's holiday decorations are causing holiday fear for local children instead of creating holiday cheer.
Residents called police and complained to the city that a house in Miami Beach had a life-sized, blindfolded Santa Claus doll hanging from a tree with its hands tied.
Some residents were furious and said their naughty neighbor put jolly old St. Nick in a position that is not too merry. But even police officers couldn't save a Santa who was bound, gagged and hanging for the holidays.
The owner of the house said it's freedom of speech. But his neighbors think it's the start of a creepy Christmas.
"It's not healthy. I mean, if somebody has something against Santa Claus or something, maybe express it in some other way," resident Lori Vega said.
Parents are afraid the decoration will cause a nightmare before Christmas for their children.
"I'm not sure what his reasoning is, but a lot of little kids are upset by it," one parent said.
The owner of the house said the Santa Claus was an artistic expression.
Some residents said the damage is already done.
"He might be the Grinch. He might be friendly with the Grinch," resident Joanie Stein said. Stein, who has lived on the block for years, said the dangling Santa sickens him. "It's a beautiful neighborhood and I think it's just weird. I've never seen anything like this here."
The homeowner said the hanged Santa Claus would be down by Wednesday.
