Giant skeletons damaged by vandals, thieves target Halloween displays in Victoria area

An Oak Bay councilor has a bone to pick with whoever stole the arm of the giant skeleton in front of her house just days before Halloween.

Hazel Braithwaite and family have set up the festive display on the lawn of their Lincoln Road home for years, and it continues to draw applause.

“We’ve put it on steroids,” Braithwaite joked, highlighting some figures that stand as tall as 12 feet. “Everyone enjoys it. I think you can see it from the air. It lights up.”

While it’s all for fun and anxiety-inducing as kids go trick-or-treating, things turned sour for the Braithwaites when they discovered the meter-long arm belonging to one of the skeletons, a new addition this year. was recently stolen.

The skeleton’s limb named ‘Groundbreaker’ was stuck in the ground, making it more challenging to steal from their Oak Bay property.

“They (the thieves) were strong,” Braithwaite told CHEK News.

“It’s probably just kids playing a prank, but it ruins it for everyone else.”

She says setting up the full Halloween show will take a while, starting in early October. They add to it all month long, so October 31st is at its best.

“My husband does most of the work. I do the purchasing,” Braithwaite joked.

Locals love it too, similar to another giant skeleton in the Bay and Dowler area of ​​Victoria that was also targeted this year, this time by vandals who toppled it.

“It was disturbing for a few reasons. It’s annoying when someone comes onto our property and breaks our stuff,” said Jason Tollman, angry about the situation, but mostly because of his wife, who was proud of their Halloween display on the lawn.

“Tonight I heard a bang and looked outside and saw him land on the lawn, decapitated where his head hit the house. Someone removed the boulders from the base and pushed him backward into our house, bending the base supports and knocking off his head and arms,” the Tollmans wrote in a Reddit post.

“Skeleton tilting is the new pumpkin crushing?”

This incident happened a few weeks ago, and now Tollman says he’s using Gorilla Glue to fix it in time for Halloween night.

“What was the point?”

He tells CHEK News that people have grown fond of the skeleton and even honk as they drive by. It has been a tradition for the Victoria family for three years.

After hearing it was damaged, Tollman said someone dropped off a bouquet of flowers and a “sorry for your loss” sympathy card for the family.

“They really loved it,” he said.

“Why? What was the point? I’m angry, but my wife is more bothered by it. This (the display) is something she executed. It takes time and effort to put it together,” he added.

“Just a downer.”

Back in Oak Bay, Braithwaite says their now armless skeleton cost about $400.

“This item wasn’t cheap to buy, so if anyone has any clues as to where it might be or has seen anyone with it – we’re assuming it was last night – please let me know as we’d like to get it back,” she said. wrote on Facebook during the weekend.

“Unfortunately, things like this make us not want to make an exhibition.”

She says she notified police in case someone turned their arm in, but did not file a formal report. Oak Bay police say such thefts are unusual in the community.

“We don’t get many reports of disrupted Halloween displays,” Deputy Chief Constable said. Kris Rice. “As far as calls for help go, fortunately our residents of Oak Bay typically experience no more distress than on any other night.”

Braithwaite hopes the arm returns soon.

“No questions were asked,” she added.