Copyright Hartford Courant
An elaborate Halloween display put on each year at a home in Hamden has caused a stir this year for its choice of a theme which the mayor and officials with the local NAACP say is offensive and racially insensitive. The annual display — which has been used to generate money for nonprofits — depicts an “asylum for the criminally insane” theme this year with dummies hanging from gallows and a tree in a yard surrounded by barbed wire, all under the watchful eye of a guard in a security tower looking down on skeletal figures below in black and white jailbird costumes. The setup at the Whitney Avenue home generates buzz each year from town residents and those in the surrounding area, typically generating a line of hundreds of trick-or-treaters on Halloween eager to set their eyes on the free “haunted house.” But this year, Hamden Mayor Lauren Garrett and the Greater New Haven NAACP believe the themes went too far. “The display features multiple nooses hanging from the front lawn, accompanied by corpses suspended from them,” the Greater New Haven NAACP said in a statement. “We want to be unequivocal: This display is deeply offensive, racially insensitive, harmful to our community and extremely triggering,” NAACP officials wrote. “The image of a noose carries a horrific and painful legacy in this country. It is tied directly to the lynching of Black men, women, and children. Such displays are not simply ‘Halloween decorations,’ they are symbols of racial terror that evoke centuries of violence and oppression. It is a reminder of a deep, dark, painful and ugly past.” In a letter dated Oct. 16 sent from Garrett to the homeowners, the mayor asked them to “kindly remove the harmful, historically charged elements from your decorations.” The examples Garrett cited included the “imagery of the gallows and hanging dummies,” which she said “tragically evokes the history of Jim Crow era lynchings and racial violence, causing trauma and offense to community members, particularly those in the Black community.” According to the letter, Garrett also believes the barbed wire around the yard “conjures images of concentration camps and genocide.” “This is not abstract symbolism — it is a visual trigger for survivors, descendants, and anyone who carries the weight of these atrocities in their family history,” Garrett wrote. The mayor also referred to the theme of an “insane asylum” as an “outdated and harmful” depiction that “relies on stigma that deeply hurts those who struggle with mental illness and actively works against modern efforts to promote compassion and understanding for mental health challenges.” Garrett also wrote that she believed the display “unintentionally” creates further division in an already divided nation, noting that the town declared racism a public health crisis in July 2020. According to town property records, the home is owned by Alfred Lee and Eric Andrewsen. They could not be reached for comment, but in an interview with WTNH, Andrewsen said he would not be removing the display. “That’s not the intent at all. … There’s nothing on the lawn that shows that I’m directly attacking any group or person,” Andrewsen told WTNH. He also claims that he planned to raise money for the Hamden Police Activities League, but the town is preventing him from doing so. In a Facebook post issued earlier this week, Garrett said she met in person with the homeowners to express her concerns about the decorations. As of Wednesday, the post had drawn more than 100 comments from users who had mixed reactions. “While I understand how the display crossed a line, I do want to add that I have full confidence that it was not the intention of the homeowners,” one user wrote in part of their comment. Many other users showed support for the homeowners and their charitable efforts, but some believe the concerns that were expressed should have been addressed. “I appreciate what this family does for the community, but I don’t understand hearing the pain this display evokes and keeping it up,” a commenter wrote. “Impact outweighs intent.” “We always look forward to their displays, but this year is just troubling,” another commenter said. Others wrote that they saw nothing wrong with the display and chalked it up as Halloween decorations that shouldn’t be interpreted as anything deeper. “This year’s theme appeared to be more of a death row or prison-style setup, and while it included nooses, I personally did not find it offensive,” a commenter said. “I don’t believe the display should be interpreted through the lens of race — people of many backgrounds have suffered hangings throughout history.” “Halloween is a scary holiday,” another user wrote. “There is no reason to read more than that. This house puts up an amazing display every year.”
