Man ordered to take down zombie nativity scene

SYCAMORE TOWNSHIP, Ohio, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The suburban Cincinnati owner of a nativity scene with a zombie twist said he hasn't decided whether to comply with an order to remove the undead display.

Jasen Dixon was threatened by Sycamore Township with a $1,000 fine if he does not remove the Christmas/Halloween mash-up display, which he dubbed the zombie nativity, from his yard by Friday.

Officials said a pair of anonymous complaints led investigators to determine the 10-foot by 10-foot nativity scene in Dixon's yard violates property maintenance codes.

Dixon, who manages the Thirteen Rooms of Doom Haunted House in Rising Sun, Ind., said he and fiance Amanda Baker are huge Halloween fans, so when it came time to decorate for Christmas, they decided to work with the objects they already had from the other holiday.

"[We had] ugly stuff to work with," Dixon told WLWT-TV.

The "ugly stuff" turned into a display featuring partially skeletal wise men and a pale baby Jesus with empty white eyes.

Township Administrator Greg Bickford said the order is not a result of the content of the display, which he called "comical." He said the size and location of the display prompted the order to have it removed.

The "township is not anti-zombie or anti-nativity," he told Cincinnati.com.

Dixon said he hasn't decided yet whether to comply with the order.

"I haven't decided," he told the Columbus Dispatch. "I don't really know what's going to happen."