Manhattan's murderous Santa display up for bids

Manhattan's murderous Santa display up for bids, to raise money for charity

at 17:06 on December 25, 2005, EST.

NEW YORK (AP) - For the man who has everything, or someone really desperate to find a last-minute gift, Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos have an answer: Their red-suited Santa Claus figure, holding a bloody knife in one hand and a severed doll's head in the other, went up for auction on Christmas Day.

Already, bidding had reached $200 US and "might go higher, maybe even to $500," the New York Post quoted Krupnik as saying.

Lest anyone be offended, and some people were, Krupnik had explained earlier that the macabre holiday display outside the couple's midtown Manhattan home was intended as a protest against the commercialization of Christmas.

The bids were to be deposited in a box next to the 1.5-metre tall Santa, to be opened after 3 p.m. Krupnik, whose telephone is unlisted, could not be reached late Sunday afternoon for a final accounting.

The auction proceeds would go to the highest bidder's favourite charity, according to a sign next to the display, which also included a number of other Barbie doll heads.

As for any critics suggesting the display was sacrilegious, Krupnik said St. Nick "is not in the Bible. He's not a religious symbol."

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