I hate this. I mean, I have to concede that this argument is almost entirely flawless (except the part about make-believe, which I am convinced has real value), but its just so much a part of the culture I grew up in. Most of those people are now dead, so I hope I'm not passing on a bad idea to the next generation just because I miss the last one. Old habits die hard I guess.

My father-in-law was over the other day and saw one of my neighbors putting up the kind of display you describe. He called it "tacky" and I remember thinking that the tackiness doesn't bug me. The macabre element of it does though. But maybe what's the difference between my cartoonish Frankenstein monster and my neighbor's really scary stuff? One's not actually scary, but it's still making entertainment out of a perverse idea. I dunno. You're probably right, but I'm still going to make a sad emoji. :(