A “very realistic” fake corpse hanging over a Montreal sidewalk for Halloween has sparked disagreement in the neighborhood and has been denounced by suicide prevention organizations.
For the past few days, passers-by strolling down Rue Saint-Urbain in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville neighborhood of Montreal have seen a decoration hanging over their heads that sends shivers down their spines.
A tied up fake corpse in jeans and with a bloody sack on his head is hanging there with a rope from a branch of a tree.
“It looks so real from head to toe. I thought it was really someone actually committing suicide. It scared me,” said Jennifer Lam, a passer-by on her way to work, when she saw the decoration for the first time yesterday. The Journal also caught the leap she made when she saw him.
decency
This fake corpse, hung on Saint-Urbain street in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district for Halloween, aroused the outrage of several netizens
“It gets dark in the evening, honestly, an old person could see that and have a heart attack,” adds Ms. Lam.
Laurie, a 61-year-old neighbor, doesn’t like having a fake corpse hanging outside her house either.
“There is so much violence in Montreal these days that we’re not going to start hanging people from trees. There are children who see that,” she emphasizes.
A nice facility, say other neighbors
Other neighbors interviewed by the Journal liked the decoration rather, saying it played its role well in scaring people as Halloween drew near.
“It’s a good Halloween decoration!” says Manpreet Singh, 37. Everyone comes and stops to take photos.
“Honestly, it doesn’t bother me at all. I know it’s Halloween and I’ve seen worse,” responded Danny, a 37-year-old neighbor.
organizations announce
However, suicide prevention organizations believe this is going too far.
“It’s really very realistic and I don’t think we’ve measured the impact it can have,” said Sylvie Boivin, executive director of Suicide Action Montreal.
“Hanging has a very violent connotation. Whether by suicide or if we look at the times when people were hanged. There may be people who have experienced situations in their family or who have already made it up against their will before a person who committed suicide by hanging, adds Ms Boivin. We should avoid this kind of decoration.
“Right now we think it’s a good idea, but it can really shock people,” said Jérôme Gaudreau, CEO of the Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention (AQPS). Unfortunately, the phenomenon of suicide is trivialized and we use it in many ways, unaware that we can shock people who have experienced trauma.
Photo Olivier Faucher
Matthew Farah wanted to pose proudly in front of his work, although he apologizes for shocking certain people.
For his part, whoever installed the fake corpse like many Halloween decorations in front of his house was not very talkative when he was annoyed by the Journal.
“[Mon intention] it’s just scary. I apologize! I don’t want to shock the world,” said Matthew Farah.
Montreal Police and the Ahuntsic-Cartierville District did not respond to questions from the Journal Tuesday night.
Do you have any information about this story that you would like to share with us?
Do you have a scoop that might be of interest to our readers?