Zombie Research Society
2014 could easily have been the year of the zombie. To be honest, the past decade could easily be the decade of the zombie. So why is anyone surprised when the zombie apocalypse creeps into Christmas?
Now, to be fair, it was, I guess, a little bit more than just Christmas. It was the creeping of the zombie apocalypse into one of the most sacred days in Christianity. And if you’re going to do that, can you really do that subtly?
Jason Dixon, of Sycamore Township, Cincinnati’s Christmas nativity scene was anything but subtle. It featured three wise-ghouls, a severed head, a demon-baby-Jesus, all inside a manger topped by an upside-down, Christmas-light-covered Star of David (aka, a pentagram). “The Dead’s Alive” was spray painted on the front of a rotted picket fence surrounding the structure.
Most of the people of the little township were aghast.
“The neighbors don’t like it. My father hates it, and anything bad that happens he blames it on that.” Dixon admitted to Fox19 WXIX.
In fact, there was such an uproar, that he was ordered to take it down, or face a $1,000 fine. Township Administrator Greg Bickford told Cincinnati.com that Dixon was ordered to take down the scene because it violated restrictions on erecting structures on your property, and insisted it was not because of perceived “bad taste.”
You can actually read the notice given to Dixon to have the structure removed from his front yard, below:
Dixon disputes the claim:
“It’s a holiday decoration. I know if it was a real pretty nativity scene they wouldn’t be saying anything.”
If you think this is a case of a “slow news day,” think again. This incident has garnered international attention, and has even been featured on CNN, in the New York Times, and in four countries and three languages, according to Dixon. And the opinions are, of course, all over the map…
“That is a disgraceful caption of Jesus whom, by the by, is our lord and savior. Morons are the only people that would even think of putting something like this ugly monstrosety [sic] up. My god what have humans become[?]”
“This is amazing. Anyone who complains about this [is] doing so for the wrong reasons. My Catholic husband (and zombie lover) just made this his wallpaper!”
And Dixon is not going quietly into the night. He has started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for next year’s display, which he promises to be “bad-ass” and “off-the-hook.”
Incidentally, Jason Dixon comes by his home-haunting honestly– he is a manager at a local haunted house.
As of December 26th, the display was still up.