'Batman' Family Responds to Controversy Over Train Track Photo Shoot
The Daly family did the photo shoot for Father's Day.
— -- The Wisconsin family whose “Batman” Father’s Day photo shoot went viral says they received death threats and watched as their address was shared online after a backlash over the fact that the photos were taken on a railroad track.
The photos were taken as an early Father’s Day gift for Mike Daly, a big fan of the Caped Crusader, from his wife, Roxanne, and their 15-month-old son, Finn. Parts of the Dalys' home are decorated almost like the Batcave, a shrine to the DC Comics superhero. One wall of the family's home is festooned with the Gotham City skyline, with the Bat Signal flashing overhead.
The staged Father's Day shoot images show Roxanne tied to railroad tracks as a damsel in distress, while the Dynamic Duo -- Mike, dressed as Batman, and Finn, dressed as Robin -- try to save her.
“We had a lot of nice comments initially,” Roxanne told ABC News of the reaction after they first posted the photos to Facebook.
“It was just pure disbelief,” Mike said of the photos going viral. “It was a kind of surreal feeling.”
“And then there were other hosts of comments that we should have our son taken away from us,” he said.
The Dalys soon faced a backlash because of the fact that they took the photos on real train tracks. One stranger posted the family's home address on line and threatened to pay them a visit.
“I was terrified and told him we need to sleep in a hotel because I really thought that someone would come and show up at our house,” Roxanne said.
The local sheriff gave the family and a warning and the National Transportation Safety Board issued a statement after the photo shoot, noting that, “…train tracks are private property and are dangerous places where trains kill and injure hundreds of people each year.”
Train track danger was put in the headlines earlier this year when a reality TV star, Greg Plitt, was killed while filming on train tracks in California in January. Since 2012, 900 people have been killed or injured trespassing on railroad tracks, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Dalys say they may dress up like Batman again next year, but no more train tracks, instead staying closer to the Batcave.
“I did ask if the trains still ran on that track and I was told that it didn’t,” Mike said. “Knowing what we know now, that it was illegal, I don’t think that we would do it again.”
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