3789 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Pocket

Jasen Dixon lives in Sycamore Township, Ohio, and manages the “13 Rooms of Doom” haunted house. And for the second year in a row, he has set up a nativity scene in his front yard with an interesting twist: a zombie baby Jesus.

Local authorities and Christians are not amused.

This is the second year Dixon has displayed the zombie nativity, but town officials say Dixon needs a permit for the display. Yet when he applied for one, he was turned down. So now he faces a fine of $500 a day as long as it remains.

To defray the cost of the fine, Dixon has been trying to get donations online, posting this on his Facebook page:

“We were going to take it down, decided to leave it up, all the lights are re-hooked and open for business just no roof. Let’s see what happens.”

So why exactly was the permit denied to Dixon? Local authorities claimed his display violated the town’s zoning code by taking up more than 35 percent of his front yard. Dixon remarked:

“I got all the paperwork and how it was wrote out, and it says as long as it’s not over 200-square foot that I can have it without a permit, and it’s about 65 square foot.

“I think it’s the theme. It just rubs people the wrong way. That’s why they’re coming down so hard on me.”

Reaction to the zombie nativity scene has been mixed, Dixon reports:

“My father hates it. The other neighbors, they drive by and give me a thumbs-up.”

On Sunday, Dixon says Christian protesters stood in front of the display handing out pamphlets that read:

“God frowns upon this manger display.”

And even though I’m also a Christian, I have to wonder this about the protesters: How do they know what God frowns upon? Don’t they think God has a sense of humor? After all, he created us, didn’t he?