The Bucks County NAACP (and other chapters) are condemning a Pennsylvania homeowner’s Halloween display which depicts several bodies wrapped in black trash bags, with duct tape and rope around their necks, all hanging from a tree. Despite the backlash and calls for removal, the homeowner denies any racial agenda at play here, and insists the Halloween decorations will remain through the holiday.
On Tuesday (October 13), local outlet Lower Bucks Source reported on the controversy over a Bristol Borough resident’s Halloween display depicting dead bodies hanging from a tree. LBS said neighbors, namely Karla Scott, brought the “offensive” issue to a City Council meeting on Monday (October 12). According to LBS, Scott said:
“Now, I don’t know if the person is just not educated on this, but it’s very offensive, not just to the black people in the community, but the community as a whole. And I just wish someone would speak to them and have them taken it taken down because it’s becoming I just can’t explain it, but it’s not appropriate for 2026.”
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Responding to Scott, Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said code enforcement spoke to the homeowner. DiGuiseppe said:
“Just so you know, our borough inspector did stop there and talk to him. Okay. But we were unsuccessful… the home owner feels they’re Halloween decorations and he won’t take them down. And we don’t have an ordinance against anything like that.”
Scott added, “So Halloween, that I’m informed of and I’ve done my research, does not consist of hanging people from a tree with a noose around it.” DiGuiseppe said he was not in disagreement.
Pennsylvania’s Bucks County NAACP Chapter Slams Homeowner For Halloween Display Depicting Bodies Hanging From Tree
By Thursday (October 15), the Bucks County NAACP took to its Facebook page to slam the controversial spooky season display. The chapter wrote:
“SOMETHING CAN BE LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE AND STILL BE PROFOUNDLY HARMFUL. The NAACP Bucks County Branch is deeply concerned by a Halloween display in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, depicting simulated bodies hanging from a tree. For Black Americans, this imagery carries a painful historical significance rooted in lynching and racial terror. While we recognize that Halloween decorations are often intended to frighten or shock, intent does not erase impact. On October 7, our branch received a complaint from a concerned resident seeking assistance. We have since followed up and are calling for continued engagement by borough leadership and voluntary reconsideration of the display. This is not about restricting Halloween celebrations or freedom of expression. It is about historical awareness, empathy, and respect for our neighbors. We cannot change our history, but we can choose how we respond when that history is invoked in our communities today. NAACP Bucks County Branch 2253B. #NAACPBucksCounty #CivilRights #BristolBorough #CommunityAccountability.”
Furthermore, the homeowner told FOX 29 that the decorations are only intended for Halloween. The resident said there was “no other agenda” when putting the display up. They also said they are “sorry if it offended anyone.” However, the decorations will not be coming down until after Halloween.
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