'Lynching' In Halloween Decoration Prompts McDonald's Apology

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover’s McDonald’s took down a Halloween decoration and apologized after resident Erik Pocock posted a video on social media showing what he described as “more like a lynching” than a cute Halloween decoration. The decoration shows a person hanging from a tree by the neck, surrounded by Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns. The decoration was right under the register at the Chickering Road McDonald’s, by the high school, Pocock said.

In a statement, restaurant owner and operator Chuck Lietz said, “We deeply regret that these decorations were on display, and as soon as we identified the inappropriate content, we immediately removed the decorations display. Creating an environment that is welcoming and inclusive to all our guests and employees is critically important to us, and we apologize for any unintended offense they may have had on our community.”

Speaking to WCBV, Pocock said, “It looked like a typical Halloween decoration. It said ‘Happy Halloween.’ It had some spiderwebs and some spiders and, like, a haunted tree and I was like: ‘Oh, that’s cute,'” he said. “Then, you look closer and that’s not cute. That’s not right.”

Pocock was not alone in taking issue with the decoration.

“That’s not a friendly Halloween thing,” Stephan Long said to WHDH. “That’s kind of a nasty Halloween thing.”

Other customers expressed concern to WHDH about the location of the display.

“McDonald’s represents Ronald McDonald, helping children,” one woman said. “Across the street from a high school, it’s just wrong.”

Pocock posted a short video showing the decoration on Twitter, mentioning the official McDonald’s account and asking, “can you explain this?” He has since locked his account.

According to WCBV, “Lietz did not clarify whether his restaurant was provided the decorations or if someone at his franchise bought them.”

Christopher Huffaker: 412-265-8353 or [email protected].