You’ve always taken pride in being the neighbor who makes Halloween magical—decking out your yard with spider webs, skeletons, glowing pumpkins, and fog machines. Kids in the neighborhood love it, and parents appreciate it too. But neighbors Gary and Brenda—who live two doors down—have consistently complained, from your bright Christmas lights to garden placement that “blocked her view.” Their years of resentment came to a head when you left your Halloween decorations up a bit longer than usual due to a busy work schedule.
One chilly morning you discovered a steaming, rotting heap of mushy pumpkins, dead cornstalks, and broken Halloween décor on your lawn. A note pinned to a pumpkin read: “Figured you’d want the rest of the neighborhood’s decorations too. Enjoy cleaning it up since you love decorating so much!” You recognized Brenda’s handwriting immediately. When you confronted Gary at their door, he smirked and called it “extra décor” in the spirit of community service. Furious but composed, you recorded everything on your security cameras and began formulating your response.
That night, you wheeled the mess—piece by piece—to Gary and Brenda’s pristine front yard. You lined their walkway with collapsing pumpkins, cornstalks wove like swamp vines around their steps, and a skeleton climbed into their mailbox. Leaving a note that said: “Thought I’d help with your cleanup since you love community service so much. Happy belated Halloween!”, you returned home. Days later, Brenda called you screaming: their house was being fined by the HOA due to rats and wiring damage caused by your prank, and they claimed you “set them up.” You had the video proof of their earlier dump.
In the end, the HOA dismissed their accusations, fined Gary and Brenda for neglect and nuisance violations, and they were forced to sell their house and move out. As you watched them load a U‑Haul, guilt flickered briefly—but you remembered their earlier hostility and the pile of rotting decorations on your lawn. Your final thought: “Some people never learn that when you try to bury others in your mess, it has a way of finding its way back to your doorstep.” Next Halloween, you’re already planning to go bigger.
