Halloween display with beheaded Jesus, blood-stained Satan ignites backlash in Louisiana

A two-story Halloween display of a blood-stained Satan gripping the severed head of Jesus has sparked an outcry from neighbors in a Louisiana town who call it blasphemy.

Vic Miorana, who lives in Metairie’s Bucktown neighborhood, typically begins planning his Halloween decorations months in advance and spends thousands of dollars, according to a report on nola.com. This year’s decorations have outraged residents who say he crossed the line.

Despite threats and complaints, Miorana said he will not remove the display.

“It’s over the principle. I have my rights and I refuse to back down,” he told nola.com. “I love to scare people. I worked in haunted houses. I hope to own my own haunted house one day, you know, and this is what scares people.”

Miorana has built extravagant displays for the past several years. Two years ago, he crafted a killer clown display. This year, he spent months mixing fake blood, sculpting fake bodies and thrifting old clothes for skeletons.

His front yard now also features a crucified nun and priest, pews of bloody skeletal worshippers and ghouls and a tombstone that reads “Hillary’s emails.”

At night, flashing lights and haunted organ music accompany the scene. Initially, the display included a flamethrower rigged to emit fire from Jesus’ body, but a fire marshal asked Miorana to remove it because it violated a burn ban, according to the report.

“I understand that the images are controversial, but it’s important to remember that this is Halloween, and it’s for fun,” he said. “I think it’s been blown completely out of proportion.”

For most of the year, Miorana displays political messages on his house, including a Trump 2024 sign and a flag with an obscenity toward President Joe Biden. Miorana told local news outlet WWL-TV’s that was raised Catholic and has no bias against the church.

“Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, whether it’s political or whether it’s your freedom of expression to create things like these declarations,” Miorana said. “It’s all protected.”

Rachel Flanagan told the news station she learned about the decorations from her children, who attend a nearby Catholic high school. She said the decorations are appalling.

“It’s horrible to our religion, it’s blasphemy, it’s not right,” she said. “Any other religion would have a problem with this.”

Jefferson Parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng said in a statement that the display was not in violation of any local ordinances. “However, this neighborhood display is clearly offensive and certainly not in the spirit of a family-friendly Jefferson Parish Halloween,” she said.

Parish code enforcement this week cited Miorana for a garage cover and uncut grass on his side yard, which he called harassment.

One neighbor, Paul Leto, who lives on the block, said he does not see why people are so offended. “And if people are offended,” he said, “why do they keep coming back through the neighborhood?”