A Halloween display outside a home at the corner of Cleveland Street and Farragut Avenue in Bristol Borough shows what appear to be bodies wrapped in black bags hanging from a tree, and the homeowner has made clear he has no plans to take it down. The decoration has drawn backlash from some residents and the Bucks County NAACP, who say the imagery is far more loaded than a seasonal scare.
The homeowner, identified as Mike Wade, told reporters he purchased the decorations as a kit online and said he never intended to offend anyone, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Wade said he considers the figures ordinary Halloween decorations and does not find them offensive, and as of the report, they remained in place outside his home.
The controversy first surfaced publicly when a Bristol Borough resident raised concerns at a Borough Council meeting about the display, which depicts bodies wrapped in black bags hanging from a tree, according to Lower Bucks Source. Bristol Borough's council president said a borough inspector stopped at the home and spoke with the homeowner, but confirmed the borough has no ordinance that specifically prohibits a display like this one.
NAACP Says Imagery Carries Weight Beyond the Homeowner's Intent
The Bucks County NAACP received a complaint about the display from a Bristol Borough resident on October 7, and the organization has since called on the homeowner to voluntarily remove or modify it. The branch said the imagery evokes America's history of racial violence, lynching and racial terror, stating plainly that, for Black Americans, the imagery of bodies hanging from trees is not simply a Halloween decoration, per the same outlet's reporting on the NAACP's statement.
Bristol officials contacted the homeowner about the display, but he declined to remove it, and a Bristol Borough official said the homeowner considers the figures Halloween decorations and will not take them down. The NAACP acknowledged that intent does not erase impact, and historical context matters, while also recognizing that something can be legally permissible and still be profoundly harmful.
A Resident Questions Whether the Message Landed
Roshea Newkirk said she questioned whether the homeowner recognized what was wrong with the display, reflecting broader unease among neighbors who have pushed back on the decoration since it went up. The NAACP has continued to call for the decorations' removal or modification even as it paired that demand with a request for continued dialogue, urging Bristol Borough leadership to keep engaging with both the homeowner and affected residents.
The dispute echoes a similar episode a 2017 Washington Post report described in another suburban neighborhood, where one set of longtime homeowners saw their hanging figure as a Halloween ghoul while a new neighbor called it a racist display. That earlier case, like this one, turned on the gap between a homeowner's stated intent and how neighbors experienced the same image.
No Clear Legal Path to Force Removal
Bristol Borough's property-maintenance code, adopted under Ordinance 1200 in 2005 as the International Property Maintenance Code, allows fines of $100 to $1,000 or up to 90 days in jail for a convicted violation, with each day a violation continues after notice counted as a separate offense, according to the Borough of Bristol's municipal code. The record does not show whether this display falls under any provision of that code or whether the borough has issued a formal notice or citation.
The Bucks County NAACP's statement also noted that Bucks County District Attorict Joe Khan announced a series of community-based discussions on preventing and addressing perceived intolerance last month, following the arrest of a Bucks County man accused of sending threatening texts to leaders of a historically Black church. For now, the decorations remain outside the Bristol Borough home, with neither the homeowner nor borough officials indicating any change is imminent.
