A Dallas man's enthusiasm for Halloween has led to several visits from Texas police. And he seems pretty proud of it.
As pointed out by the Dallas Observer, artist Steven Novak has caused a bit of stir in his East Dallas neighborhood, where he used his creative skills to stage an elaborate murder scene in his front yard. The Halloween decorations include a bloody walkway, with multiple dummies laying facedown on the ground; one of which has a chainsaw to its back and another had its head smashed by a safe. There was also a dummy laying off the front end of the roof with a machete to its skull and a tipped over wheelbarrow with plastic bags of fake dismembered body parts.
Novak clearly has had no trouble getting into the Halloween spirit.
"I’ve always been up to hijinks like flying ghosts or 7-foot tall snow sculptures of myself, so if I was gonna do Halloween, it was obvious that it should be hyperreal," Novak told the Observer. "No lights, fog machine, or camp … something that would really freak people out walking by in the dark. So I whipped up some dummies and slung 20 gallons of blood all over."
Novak went on to say his over-the-top decorations have prompted multiple visits from the local police department, following a number of complaints.
"Neighbors told me cop cars were in front of my house a lot during the day," he said. "I was only home twice to receive them. They told me they thought it was cool and that they were only there because they were required to reply to complaints from the sergeant."
He continued: "They were in formation at the door and when I opened it they asked me if it was all mine. I asked, ‘You mean the blood and the bodies? Yeah, that’s me."
Though some of his neighbors may find his decor a little too extreme, Novak insists his 2020 setup was a tamer version of his original vision.
"Honestly, though, I think I could’ve used more," he said. "[My plans] were way worse on paper. Next year though!"
