Neighbors slam disturbing Halloween display which shows blooded baby dolls trapped in incubators and being decapitated by axes and guillotines - but officials say there's nothing they can do about it
Neighbors are said to be losing their heads over the gruesome nature of one homeowner's Halloween display.
Officials in Brigham City, Utah, say they've received 'more than a few complaints' over a family's Halloween display that includes a guillotine chopping off the heads of baby dolls.
In addition to the guillotine, the lawn display also includes a bloody nurse standing over a baby incubator containing angry looking babies and body parts.
However, the city attorney, Michael Christiansen, said the display isn't a public nuisance under the city code even though 'it's distasteful to some.'
And the family behind the display insist it's just supposed to be for fun.
A Halloween display in a Utah town features a guillotine chopping off the heads of baby dolls
The display also shows a bloody nurse standing over a baby incubator containing 'angry babies' and baby parts
Tombstones and ghouls are among the other features in the front yard display
The controversial display was created by the Bawden family.
Julie Bawden said to KUTV-TV her family's annual Halloween displays are just intended 'to be spooky and fun'
'We got a lot of compliments, I'll tell you that,' she said adding that it is never their intention to offend anyone.
They say their home has even become a destination for trick-or-treaters on Halloween, with many residents complimenting them on their creativity.
Julie Bawden and Mike Grube are behind the gruesome display which has angered neighbors
There have been a number of complaints to city officials who have visited the display themselves to see what the fuss is about
Officials says the display appears to be 'fun' and 'cinematic' stating there is nothing that can be done unless it were threatening to a specific person or group
City officials have visited the home twice and have declared the scene to be 'cinematic'
Some neighbors have said they object to the display, saying it’s too much
There have been at least a dozen complaints about the nature of the Halloween display
The family have been setting up provocative Halloween displays for years. 2019 is no different
ulie Bawden said her family's annual Halloween displays are just intended 'to be spooky and fun.'
But neighbor Claudia Perry said she objects to the display, saying it's too much.
She told KUTV: 'How far are they going to go? And where are we going to stop? We live here. We should say stop somewhere.'
Another woman, identified only as Kaycie, who lives near the home where the display is located also contacted the city about to object and claims that at least 12 others have also complained.
'What crosses a line for me is violence towards babies or children. Totally unacceptable in my book,' Kaycie said.
'There's too much of that that goes on in the real world; we hear about it on the news all the time.'
City officials have visited the home several times but on each occasion representatives have been satisfied that that the decorations that had been put up in fun and jest rather than anything hateful or malicious.
City attorney Michael Christiansen even described the display as being 'cinematic' in nature.
'It's distasteful to some, but it's not rising to the level of a public nuisance under city code,' he said.
There are also some more traditional scenes such as skeletons and witches lining the lawn
Some neighbors have objected to the site of a man chopping off a baby's head
A skeleton hooked up to an oxygen tank is part of the strange spooky display in Brigham
The city says that if the display contained messages that were threatening to a specific neighbor or protected group of people, only then something could be done about it
