Demented Santa (Manchester)

Manchester, New Hampshire, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Creepy Santa, also called Demented Santa, is a roughly 12-foot weathered fiberglass Santa Claus that stands each holiday season at a family Christmas tree stand on Elm Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. In 2025 the city declared Black Friday Creepy Santa Day.

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Demented Santa (Manchester)

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Site-level location · 42.9990° N, 71.4636° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Each holiday season a weathered 12-foot Santa on Manchester's Elm Street is known for its wide eyes and evil grin, according to the Union Leader. Creepy Santa, also called Demented Santa and Sinister Santa, is a fiberglass statue and the seasonal companion of a family Christmas tree business on Elm Street, where, according to Manchester Ink Link, it has appeared for 35 years.

The family says the statue was bought by the owner's father early in the business. The owner told the Union Leader in 2020 that he thought only eight were made 'in the world by a plastic company out in California' in the 1950s, while Ink Link's 2025 report of the city resolution describes it as one of only eight made in the U.S.; neither account names the maker.

For about 30 years it stood on a vacant lot at Salmon and Elm streets. When that corner was redeveloped for a credit union headquarters, its future was uncertain until a nearby former service station lot became available. In November 2020 the statue returned a week earlier than usual to 1467 Elm Street, next to the Masonic Temple, a move Manchester Ink Link put at about 0.3 miles. A local painter's 2012 picture of the original corner has also been used on fundraising cards by CASA of New Hampshire.

On 3 December 2025, Manchester Ink Link reported, the mayor read a resolution before the Board of Aldermen naming Black Friday Creepy Santa Day. The statue is out only in the Christmas tree season, so plan a visit then, and check where this year's stand is set up.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Seasonal: the statue appears at the family's Christmas tree stand on Elm Street while trees are sold. In 2020 it returned on 14 November to 1467 Elm Street, beside the Masonic Temple. It is on a commercial lot and is not on view outside the holiday season.

ACCESS

Seen from the street at a commercial Christmas tree lot on Elm Street in Manchester, in the holiday season only. Its exact spot has moved before, so check the tree stand for this year's location and dates.

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26 km away

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