My Neighbors Dumped Their Rotten Halloween Decorations in My Yard – But I Taught Them a Lesson They Won’t Forget
|I’ve always loved Halloween. Every year, I deck out my yard with creepy decorations—ghosts, cobwebs, massive plastic spiders, and gravestones to create a haunted yard that the neighborhood kids adore. This year, I went all out with a maze, and a huge inflatable witch that lit up at night. My decorations earned praise from everyone—well, almost everyone.
Gary and Brenda, my neighbors two doors down, aren’t exactly fans of my enthusiasm. Last year, they even complained about my Christmas lights being “too bright.” So, it didn’t surprise me when, the morning after Halloween, I woke up to a foul stench outside my door. As I opened it to grab the newspaper, the sight of rotting pumpkins and other discarded Halloween decor strewn across my lawn made my stomach turn. I knew immediately who was behind it.
Fueled by anger, I marched over to their house, knocking hard on their door. Gary opened it with a smug look. “Something you need?” he asked, crossing his arms.
I held back my temper and asked, “Is there a reason your junk is all over my lawn?”
He just shrugged. “Well, you still had decorations up. Figured you wouldn’t mind cleaning ours up too,” he said with a smirk. “You’re the Halloween Queen around here, after all.”
The nerve! That night, as I stewed over Gary and Brenda’s audacity, a plan formed in my mind. They wanted to share their Halloween leftovers? I’d be more than happy to “return the favor.”
So, early the next morning, while they were still asleep, I gathered every bit of trash and rotten pumpkins they’d dumped on my yard. Then I added a few creative touches—a trail of dried cornstalks leading right to their front door, some spooky lights, and a handful of rubber rats scattered across their porch to give it that “haunted” feel. I finished with a note on their door: “Thought I’d help with your cleanup since you like community service. Happy Halloween!”
By evening, my phone buzzed. Brenda’s voice came screeching through the line. “You’ve RUINED us! The HOA’s threatening fines because of the mess you left!”
Feigning innocence, I replied, “Brenda, my security cameras caught you and Gary dumping that trash on my lawn first. If you’re having issues with the HOA, maybe you should’ve thought twice about making your mess someone else’s problem.”
As it turned out, the HOA had already been on their case for their overgrown yard, broken fence, and the growing rat problem neighbors had complained about long before Halloween. My “contribution” just happened to be the final straw. A few weeks later, I watched from my window as they packed a U-Haul, loading their belongings in silence.
Next Halloween? I think I’ll go even bigger.