They say it is rude to comment on a baby’s appearance but that has not stopped the residents of Rochdale, who awoke on Wednesday to a “freaky” new arrival.
Lilly, an 8.5-metre tall puppet designed to help children talk about the environment, went on display in the town centre to a somewhat bewildered response.
Rochdale residents described the puppet, which opens and closes its eyes, as “creepy”, “terrifying” and “so horrifying”.
Unveiling Lilly, Rochdale borough council wrote on social media: “Rochdale welcomed a special guest today, a baby girl who made a surprise visit to Rochdale town hall!
“Lilly, the 8.5 metre baby will be part of the Wild Wanders event next month. After waking up to meet local children, they sang to her and she was soon back asleep. She’s invited hundreds of local schoolchildren to come and meet her this week, to find out what they think about the future of our environment.”
One person told BBC Radio Manchester they had “never seen anything like this in Rochdale before”, while another said the baby was reminiscent of the 1990 sci-fi comedy sequel Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.
They said: “I came around the corner and I thought: ‘It’s just creepy with its eyes shut, never mind open.’”
One social media commenter described it as “Chucky goes north”, a reference to the American horror film series about a killer vintage doll. Another said the artwork would have given them “nightmares for months seeing this as a kid”.
In response, the council wrote: “Lucky the baby is a puppet or she would be upset by that comment. This is an event for young children and they love her, the response has been fantastic.”
School groups have visited Lilly in Rochdale town square, singing and speaking to her about how they feel about the climate crisis and how they plan to look after nature. Recordings will be played back on 24 October when Lilly moves to Hollingworth Lake for an environmental arts festival.
The three-day Wild Wanders event is funded by Arts Council England and the Garfield Weston Foundation. The council described it as a “family friendly outdoor environmental arts event, raising awareness of the climate crisis while encouraging visitors to think positively about what they can do to make the world a better place for future generations”.