by Oxford, OH – Don’t worry about it, Bill Pyles’ front yard in Oxford, Ohio, has bones all about it.
But for Pyles and his family, the scariest part isn’t their elaborate Halloween display; it is their mailbox, which curses him with hate mail every year.
According to Pyles, reports from angry neighbors accuse him of everything from “worshipping the devil” to “glorifying death.”
That’s why Pyles considered downsizing the display when a note arrived earlier this month.
“I stood stock still in the driveway looking at that letter,” Pyles told CBS News.
The note was written by Tammy Weihe, who has breast cancer. To receive her daily radiation treatments, Weihe must travel a country road in Oxford that takes her right past Pyles’ house.
Given her situation, it would be understandable that Pyles’ diorama of death could be disturbing. But the tone of her letter was more humerus than sternum.
“The bone family and what they are up to…(is) a highlight of my trip,” Weihe wrote.
She went on to explain how her last day of cancer treatment was coming up, and how grateful she was for this daily distraction.
“It brought tears to my eyes and really touched my heart,” Pyles said.
He knew what to do. Pyles went to work adding to his exhibit, so when Weihe made her final trip past his house, she saw an entire skeleton crew cheering her on.
“It was very moving to think that someone would go to that length for a stranger,” Weihe said.
The two have now become friends.
“We talk all the time now,” Pyles said.
Pyles said Weihe’s letter and their new friendship completely negated all the hate mail, inspiring him to not only maintain but expand his Halloween show. He now plans to keep the exhibit up “all year round.”
“The cases will continue and they will continue to operate,” Pyles said.
And does he expect more angry letters?
“It will be.”
Steve Hartman
