A Citizen Initiative • State of Maine
Maine Has a Skeleton Problem.
Every October, they appear. Twelve feet tall. Grinning. By July, they are still there.
Home Depot's 12-foot skeleton was sold as a seasonal decoration. It has become a permanent fixture in neighborhoods across Maine. Assembly requires several hours and a second adult. Disassembly requires the same. Most owners choose neither. The result is a year-round skeleton presence that no community asked for and no ordinance currently addresses.
Sign the PetitionPhotographic Evidence
The Skeletons of Maine
These are real photographs of real skeletons. Many were purchased for Halloween. Most have not moved since.
Why Are They Still Up?
The 12-foot skeleton arrived on the consumer market in 2020 and rapidly became the defining novelty decoration of its era. Retailers sold millions of units to homeowners who underestimated one critical variable: getting the skeleton back down.
Assembly involves over forty individual components, a set of instructions printed in a font optimized for frustration, and a minimum of two adults willing to hold poles in the air for an extended period. The process typically takes between two and four hours. Disassembly takes the same. Storage requires a space approximately the size of a canoe, which most Maine homes do not have.
Faced with this reality, a significant portion of skeleton owners make a rational economic decision: they leave it up. November becomes December. December becomes March. March becomes July. The skeleton, grinning as it was designed to do, watches all of it.
Mainers Speak Out
I tried to sell my house last spring. The neighbors had two of them up. One was wearing a lei. The realtor said nothing, but her eyes said everything.
— A. Citizen, Portland
My daughter asked me why the skeleton is still there in July. I told her it was a very dedicated decoration. She is eight years old and did not accept this answer.
— Concerned Parent, Bangor
It was wearing a Santa hat by December. A flag by July Fourth. It is still wearing the flag. We have entered September. No one has said anything.
— Resident, Augusta
The Proposed Legislation
We are calling on the Maine Legislature to enact a straightforward seasonal decoration ordinance. The proposed law is narrow, reasonable, and long overdue.
Proposed Ordinance Summary — Giant Skeleton Removal Act
- Skeleton or skeleton-adjacent decorations exceeding eight (8) feet in height must be fully removed and stored off-premises no later than thirty (30) days following November 1st of each calendar year.
- Owners found in violation shall receive a formal written notice from the town selectmen. A second violation in the same calendar year shall result in a second, more firmly worded notice.
- Exemptions apply to: licensed haunted attractions operating under a valid seasonal permit; municipal or state-sponsored public installations; and skeletons used for genuine anatomical instruction in an accredited educational setting.
We believe this is a reasonable ask. We are not calling for a ban on Halloween decorations. We are not opposed to the skeletons themselves. We are asking only that they be put away when the season ends, as all decorations were once understood to be.
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