Woman mourns 10-month-old daughter, mother by dressing mannequins in their clothes

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. (WDBJ/Gray News) - A Virginia woman is grieving her loved ones in a way that she knows some might find unusual. She placed fully-clothed mannequins outside her home in memory of her mother and daughter.

What started out as a Halloween tradition for a woman named Siobhan turned into an outlet that allows her to grieve her loved ones, including her mother and 10-month-old daughter, WDBJ reports.

Siobhan started placing completely clothed mannequins in her front yard four years ago. From there, she decided to let the mannequins stay out year-round.

After moving into a new home on Pell Avenue in Rocky Mount, Siobhan initially decided not to put the mannequins out, but after losing her 10-month-old daughter in May, she changed her mind.

“I started putting her up that day,” Siobhan said.

For Siobhan, the mannequins are reminders of loved ones lost. Some of the clothes she dresses them with belonged to her mother, who died just two weeks before her daughter.

“My dad passed away, my mom passed away and now, my daughter. Oh, and my dog died, too, a month later after my daughter. It was so much. It’s like, ‘Oh my God. What else?’” she said.

Siobhan recently added a baby doll resembling her late daughter to the display, even dressing the doll in her onesie.

“My daughter was just the happiest baby. When she was crying, she was happy. She would cry, want a bottle, [but] she would be smiling,” she said.

Siobhan thought the display would get a negative reaction, but she’s happy the community has accepted the way she wants to grieve her family.

“Whether it’s weird or not, I don’t care. It makes me happy doing it,” she said.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.