Uproar as human-like figures seen hanging from tree in South Carolina

Concerned neighbours in South Carolina said they felt ‘intimidated’ by mannequin hanging from a tree

A South Carolina community became increasingly concerned after a Halloween decoration that looked like a body in a bag caught their attention outside a resident’s house.

The president and CEO of the Racial Justice Network, Elder James Johnson, told WCSC that local residents of Hollywood in South Carolina felt intimidated by the human-like figure hanging from the tree.

Hollywood mayor Dr Chardale Murray also said to WCBD that she had a few of her constituents reach out to her because they were “intimidated or afraid” by this behaviour.

“This is very offensive to the Black community, simply because we know our history, during the Jim Crow Era, that many Blacks were lynched, even here in South Carolina,” Mr Johnson said to WCSC.

Racial Justice Network leader said the display was “very offensive to the Black community” (WCBD-TV)

The decoration has since been taken down. It was surrounded by signs that Mr Johnson assumed were written by the person who lived in the home that the fake figure was hanging outside of, the outlet reported.

Footage captured by local media showed the figure lying on the ground with the handwritten signs surrounding it.

The signs claimed that the human-like figure was just an old Halloween decoration that had been taken down for two years.

“This decoration is mass-produced from Walmart. It is a white inflatable object wrapped in a black body bag made for Halloween that I’ve been too lazy to take down,” one sign said, the local outlets reported.

The fake body was taken down and signs were put up explaining why it was in the tree (WCBD-TV)

Yet, Mr Johnson said that despite the object being a Halloween decoration, he acknowledged that it is now mid-February and that the Halloween season was over three months ago.

“We understand that she has signs in her yard saying that it’s Halloween, but Halloween was in October,” he told WCBD. “And for the family to keep it up until February sends a strong message of hate to people who travel this road.”

The sign added that despite the decoration being up for two years, neighbours had yet to raise any concerns or complain about it before.

Chardale Murray said the decoration was was “not welcoming” (WCBD-TV)

“If this was about my neighbours feeling threatened by my family, it would have been addressed sooner. This is targeted harassment that is playing on a very sensitive subject to gain the most attention,” the sign states.

Now the figure has been taken down from the tree, Mr Johnson, according toWCSC, said that he is thankful to the homeowner for doing so, adding that his organisation does not tolerate this sort of display.

However, he also asked the community not to harass the residents of the property.

Mayor Murray also told WCBD that this “type of behaviour is not welcoming in the town of Hollywood or acceptable”.