Yard art display in Lakewood Hills is here to scare away the coronavirus

Madeline and Isabelle Cospolich in front of a yard art display in Lakewood Hills.

Halloween seems to have come early. But the spooky lawn display in front of this house in Lakewood Hills isn’t scaring neighbors away. It’s providing much-needed cheer amid widespread fears over the coronavirus.

Rather than frightening neighbors, ZED the zombie appeared on this Casa Loma Avenue lawn to scare away the coronavirus, which has infected more than 247 people in Dallas County as of March 25.

NBC affiliate Channel 5 reported that many people across the United States have taken to social media to share their uplifting decorations, which range from Christmas light displays to artwork in windows.

Here’s how other neighbors participated:

Homeowners in Lakewood Heights decided this season of Lent needed a dose of Advent.

(Photo posted by Alan Carrillo on Nextdoor.)

If this leg lamp from “A Christmas Story” doesn’t make you smile, we don’t know what will. Find it in the 6400 block of Dunstan Lane in Lakewood.

(Photo courtesy of Allison Schlender.)

At the corner of Vanderbilt and Abrams, neighbor Emily Kryder and sons used their fence to broadcast an encouraging message and some helpful advice — stay home, save lives and shop local. “The first thing I wrote was, ‘Everything will be OK’ on a day when I was feeling anxious,” Kryder said. “What helps is knowing you’re not alone.” Over the next week, she and her kids wrote encouraging messages along the length of the fence. They didn’t stop until they ran out of chalk. “It wasn’t something I’d planned on doing,” Kryder said. “I just really wanted to put a smile on people’s faces when there’s not a lot to smile about.”

(Photo courtesy of Emily Kryder.)

(Photo courtesy of Emily Kryder.)

(Photo courtesy of Emily Kryder.)

Or check out this inspiring art on McCommas Boulevard and Alderson Street.

(Photo courtesy of Nina Tenery.)

This message at the corner of Goodwin and Delmar avenues, across the street from Geneva Heights Elementary, says it all.

(Photo courtesy of Jennifer Torres.)

The grandaddy of them all is Kip’s Big Boy, who is making his first appearance at Abrams Road and Trammel Street in more than a year. Yard art collector Gary Isett had stored the giant statue in his garage and needed a few extra hands to help set it up. With plenty of downtime nowadays, neighbors came over and displayed it Tuesday night. Alas, you won’t be able to find that giant roll of toilet paper in any grocery story. It’s made from five pieces of poster board taped together, and the face masks are cut up T-shirts. “I’m going to keep them up indefinitely,” Isett said. “I’ll take it down when this passes and all the restrictions are lifted. You’ve got to laugh at yourself.”