A resident of Piqua, Ohio, is causing quite the stir with her off-season Halloween décor. The woman, Mary Simmons, bought a massive, ten-foot-tall plastic werewolf last October for Halloween. However, she fell in love with the decoration so much that she decided to keep it in her front yard all year long rather than put it up and take it down for the Halloween season only.
Although Simmons loves her massive plastic werewolf, other people in Piqua, Ohio, are not so happy about it. Nevertheless, Simmons refuses to take down the werewolf because it has become precious to her and part of her year-round home décor style.
Simmons said, “He’s kind of become my house mascot. I kind of look at it as a security thing. Who wants to break into a house with a 9.5-foot werewolf sitting outside of it? I know I wouldn’t.”
While the werewolf was created for homeowners to celebrate Halloween, Simmons sees her creature as a year-round decoration. She also jazzes up the werewolf with clothing to celebrate other holidays besides Halloween as well as to honor each passing season. For example, the werewolf was decorated with an American flag and an American flag shirt in honor of Memorial Day and the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.
Simmons has even given her massive werewolf a name. She calls her friend Phil and regularly dresses him up to celebrate whatever is going on that season.
In addition to dressing him in patriotic garb for the summer, Simmons also has plans to put him into some more summertime-specific clothing. She said, “We’re going to get a big Hawaiian shirt and maybe some sunglasses.”
While Simmons loves her werewolf Phil, not everyone in Piqua, Ohio, is happy about the Halloween decoration that she refuses to take down. One person filed an anonymous complaint with the city of Piqua, requesting that city officials get Simmons to take down the werewolf because it is quite a disturbance to the peaceful aura of the Ohio town.
Although some people want the werewolf gone, Simmons does have her fair share of neighbors who are happy to indulge the Ohio homeowner’s love for Halloween.
“I’m a big horror fan, so I didn’t really mind it,” said neighbor Hailey Barker. “I’ve watched them dress it up for different occasions, and I think it’s pretty cool.”
The city did give Simmons a warning about the Halloween decoration. However, the city does not plan to follow up their warning with further action. This means that Simmons will likely be able to leave up the decoration until it is deemed a safety hazard.
“I don’t want somebody walking by, and his head falls off, hitting them,” said Simmons. “I try to treat people like I want to be treated, and I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.”
However, Simmons sees no safety hazard in the near future. Phil has endured winter and recent storms.
