16 Times People Overdid Halloween Decorations And Got The Cops Called On Them
The Halloween tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people used to light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. So I guess nothing says 'Happy Halloween!' like something that scares you to death and makes you forget the world is celebrating in the first place.
Bored Panda decided to pay tribute to those who go above and beyond to create the right atmosphere for this spooky occasion. Whether it's an extremely gory massacre scene or a subtle, half-buried body bag, these Halloween displays were so next-level, some people thought there actually was something wrong and called the police to investigate. Continue scrolling and enjoy!
This post may include affiliate links.
When You Go "Too Far" With The Halloween Decorations
Texas resident Steven Novak is one of the people who went all out for Halloween this year. In his yard, one dummy lies with his head pulverized, one lies with a scale where his or her head used to be, and a few more lie in bloodied trash bags fallen off a wheelbarrow. All the while, in the window of the house, a zombie horde attempts to break out.
"I'm most proud of the wheelbarrow tipped over by the street full of Hefty bags, looking like a failed attempt to dispose of the dismembered bodies in the middle of the night," Novak told Dallas Observer. "A kid walked by and asked me what happened to them; I said they ate too many Skittles."
Life-Size Michael Myers House
Isn't this wonderful? To be able to make cool things because you want to?
Load More Replies...
Forget the expenses, I'm more perplexed with how are they gonna dispose that massive decor ?
I’m all for Halloween decorations but this is an obscene waste of money. Maybe try making sure local families have food and warmth too?
I'd keep it in my yard and decorate it for the holidays and take it down after New Years.
I dont know shaggy, like... where? (Sorry i just had to)
Load More Replies...
i call micheal my firend (idk why but i like dead things and creepy stuff my grandma says im a werid emo girl
Wait until dark, set animatronic Mike Myers in motion and you will have a stampede down the street. Possibly a few heart attacks to boot.
I have a friend here in Montreal, that does a grand decoration every year. One year it was The Walking Dead and I felt that I was in the series... So good for you!!!
reminds me how this year someone dressed up as michael myers and played his theme music as he walked around lol
This complete waste of money when there are people in America living in disgusting conditions, people dying due to lack of healthcare - i will never understand it.
Novak's decorations have brought the police to his house multiple times. "Neighbors told me cop cars were in front of my house a lot during the day," he explained. "I was only home twice to receive them. They told met hey thought it was cool and that they were only there because they were required to reply to complaints from the sergeant."
"They were in formation at the door and when I opened it they asked me if it was all mine. I asked, 'You mean the blood and the bodies? Yeah, that’s me.'"
"Honestly, though, I think I could’ve used more. [My plans] were way worse on paper. Next year though!"
Now That Is How You Do Halloween Right. This Guy Got The Cops Called On Him Several Times In Dallas
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France. They celebrated their new year on November 1.
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead got blurred.
In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Celtic priests to predict the future. Considering the Celts were entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies must've been really comforting in the face of a long, dark winter.
Woke Up This Morning To 6 Cops, A Fire Truck, And An Ambulance At My Door Because A Passing Car Was Concerned About The One Halloween Decoration I Neglected To Take Down
To commemorate the event, the priests built huge sacred bonfires, where everyone would gather to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically made of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.
Who knows, Maybe Novak has some Celtic blood? Either way, his display sure looks like a modern version of the old celebration.
Deadly Halloween Tableau Too Realistic For Some. Neighbours Called 911
Halloween Decor Gore
Suspended Dead Man
Creepy Clown Hanging The Whole Family
There is a difference between spooky and a horror scene. Little kids also see these things, so I would not make it too scary.
@kubu: I am a US citizen, and I full on agree. sorry about all the downvotes, bud (also don't come after me please)
@Kubu, with the current situation, we have no sense of humor left over here in the US.
Actually it was meant to be cheeky joke, to be taken with a grain of salt. I like playful spitefullnes, but people on BP seem to have very thin skin and small distance to themselves and get insulted about mostly anything, hence the downvotes. I don't have anything in particular against US, it has many stupid policies, but which country doesn't? And US being world superpower is always on spotlight, so bigger part of world knows the flaws. As usual, the people are great, the gov is kind of a dissapointment. Anyway, thanks for kind words :)
True. I wonder if these are all legal and if the cops can force them to take them down. Some are way too much. Imagine if the neighbors had small kids and they had to see those.
Let me imagine being a neighbor with small children... "Mommy what is that???" "It's Halloween decorations." "Oh ok." And scene.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Azziza follower
Yes and no, why are we not having conversations with our children? Explaining that some things are fake. And if they're too young to understand that conversation, walk the other way and don't take them by the house. It's pretty simple actually. I had a neighbor that would go all out to include taking a chain off a chainsaw and chasing the older kids, I didn't take my kids to that house until I knew they were ready. And if the off chance one of these houses are your next door neighbor, maybe a conversation with them as well? It's not that hard.
Ha, 5 year old me found decapitated heads "cool looking". These weren't too bad. I got mental help btw
I think they're really cool! And they're just fake decorations; they might spook people the first time but it's honestly good for little kids to learn not to be scared.
Path of Totality -
abdwap -
Path of Totality easy
This comment has been deleted.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
That's my issue though. If I celebrated Halloween, wouldn't it be my right to decorate my own home however I want? It's not my fault that other people have kids, so I shouldn't have to consider those kids when making my own plans for my own property.
Is it ok over there to have sex in front of your house?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
It's USA, best prepare them for reality ;)
To be honest. Most of these made me sick and were not made with good taste.
This comment has been deleted.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
WildBerry: Almost no one who uses the term "Karen" knows one bit about any indigenous people of Southeast Asia. The term is very racist against Caucasians, however.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Lynching after lynching. What's up with that? And people still using the term 'Karen" being racist because they don't know what a Karen is. Karen [kəˈren] NOUN 1.a member of an indigenous people of eastern Burma (Myanmar) and western Thailand. 2.the language of the Karen, probably Sino-Tibetan. ADJECTIVE 1.relating to the Karen or their language.
So let's just forget about the kids going trick or treating and launch straight into horror? What happened to the fun ghosties and goblins and things like that?
The entire concept of America s "version" of Halloween is freaky af. For 364 days of the year you tell your kids NOT to accept candy from strangers, especially those in masks! Same as Christmas... Don't talk to strangers! But sit on this perverts knee while we take a photo. Yeah I see why these guy's go over the top on horror, because that's what Halloween is.
Several over the top folks do not define America's version of Halloween. Blanket statements are not attractive or accurate.
Mari Bryant Good response!
It used to be that the people who handed out candy on Halloween weren't strangers; they were your neighbors. Of course those were the days when everyone knew their neighbors. The tradition has held on, even though the culture has changed.
Do you know what a goblin is?
Your kids are not other peoples problems. F
Thank heavens I don't live in US, because I find children dressed as pagan characters, disturbing, forcing neighbors to give sweets, threatening to damage their houses, very annoying.
Pagan characters? What pagan characters? Do you consider Harry Potter or Cinderella "pagan characters"? The children are usually accompanied by their parents, since they're walking around outside after dark, and the parents don't allow them to damage the neighbors' houses. The "trick" part of "trick or treat" was brought over from England with the settlers. And back in the day, grown-ups went out and tipped over people's outhouses for the "trick."
Most Halloween costumes aren't pagan characters, man.
My kids dressed up as a lady bug and a ballerina... And no one threatens people's houses. Where did you hear that crap?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Why do we have to care about the kids going trick or treating? Why do I have to change my plans for my own house just because someone else has kids? Halloween doesn't belong to children exclusively.
For the same reason you can't urinate in the street, or walk around the neighbourhood naked. Because you live in a community and members of a community have a responsibility to uphold community values and not outrage public decency. What you do inside your own house is up to you but when it's visible to others it's a public display as it affects other people. I don't know about the US but there are public decency laws in the UK and I'm fairly certain most of these displays would be considered illegal.
Nicola Cross haha
One day a year? ONE DAY FOR CHILDREN TO HAVE FUN? Grown ups can go out every day or night so come on give the kids ONE day!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yeah, THOSE dead people are okay, but these dead people are bad. Did I get that right?
Yeah, genius, there’s a difference between a little kid wearing a sheet to be a ghost and someone constructing a realistic murder scene with multiple corpses or hanging three people who appear to be black.
no
I don’t think it’s very normal for all these people to have such gruesome murder fantasies. There is nothing funny or creative about this.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Everyone gets their kicks differently. Honestly, traditions around Halloween revolve around protection from the risen dead, and confused spirits.
"Kicks" are meant to be enjoyed in private, not put out for the whole neighbourhood to have to see. Halloween is not about torture porn, and it never was. People know what Halloween is about, and this is not it.
I was under the impression that Halloween was meant to be funny and a bit creepy for the children. It seems like somehow it's turned into a "Who can come up with the most gory and shocking decorations" contest.
No, first of all, it was a pagan holiday called Samhain and Christians decided to twist it so they could have more control. Most people don't even know what the true meaning of Halloween is, either that or they think it's a myth. And second of all, people will have their own decorations and you have no right to judge them for it. They are also not trying to have a contest, the whole point of decorations in the first place is to be SCARY. Not accommodate to the people who are too scared or sensitive.
It was never part of Samhain to produce a Hollywood massacre or lynch party to scare off anyone at a time when the gates between worlds are open
You are wrong. The whole point of decorations on the outside of your house is to provide entertainment for the neighborhood. If you want to practice your "right" to have your own decorations, you should do it inside. Outdoor decorations aren't meant to deliver as much gore as possible. You can't get away with calling anyone who still has a sense of proportion "too scared or sensitive." What kind of things do you watch on a regular basis, if you are inured to this kind of display?
It is healthy and normal to be disgusted and concerned by dead bodies and gruesome scenes depicting horrific deaths. Forcing your neighbors to look at repulsive and violent scenes every day to show off your sick fantasies is not ok, and never will be.
Le Box of Shame Good response!
Christian N/A easy
Some forget that there are people who have found neighbors hanging in trees and sadly had to explain that to little kids who saw. People can avoid watching horror movies if they don’t like them. It’s not as easy to avoid distasteful Halloween decorations.
@ Full Name Seriously? Why shouldn't we worry about the 1 in 100,000,000? And it's not just that. These are very gruesome scenes, and look very realistic. Any normal passerby would probably be at least a LITTLE traumatized. Have a little empathy
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Oh FFS the # of people who've actually found neighbours hanging in trees is so statically insignificant it's incredible. One in a hundred million? You can't be worried about 1 in 100,000,000. People like you are also hypocrites because you like all sorts of other costumes that can remind people of directly lost loved ones.
I just don't think this is in good fun. Like you enjoy it, but you know it disturbs some people. It's selfish. Have something less public.
My husband went full-out without any restraint our first year in our current home. Children ran crying from our yard. He is NEVER allowed to go unsupervised into Halloween yard decorating again. NEVER. Now it's fun, and cool, and *not Eli Roth movie set*! These made even him blink, however, so.... Yeah. TOO FAR.
"Overdid" is an understatement for some of these. They skipped the skeletons and went to outright murder scenes. What's wrong with these people?
everyone puts filled body bags in the garden as decoration. this is not spooky. this is bizarr. a real murderer could come up with the idea of putting a real corpse in the garden to the fake ones .. just sain' ....
I was just thinking that!!! If they become so common, someone who is really sick in the head could put a real one out like that and everyone would think it was just a decoration.
Exactly. People actually have done this: https://people.com/crime/murdered-womans-body-hanging-on-fence-was-mistaken-for-halloween-decoration/
Sometimes I feel sorry for the humanity. This is the case.
Some of them (Like the fire and I think the Micheal Myers house) were I guess ok? But what's with the bodies? Little kids go Trick-or-Treating, not adults and near adults...
I responded to some posts the same: NO TOO MUCH!! I might sound salty here (Ok, so be it) but small children passing by, and/or service people being called to check (police or so) ... Do you really want to burden them with your "sense of humo(u)r"?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Jaekry yes
I don't think my friend Ray would find any humor in this.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ebw1_10PI&t=3s
Lauren CW easy
Lauren CW yes
This is disgusting to me
I'm surprised that Bored Panda pandered to these sick scenes. Isn't there enough violence these days without glorifying it? Plus, it wasted police and firefighters' time responding to these scenes. There is a fine line between artistic impression and downright nastiness. These scenes stepped way over the line.
Way over the line!
Harriet Cooper yes
Harriet Cooper -
This is getting dumb. Fun and creative is fine, but gore for the sake of gore I can't support. My 5 yo daughter for the past two Halloweens tells me how much she hates it because all the over the top decorations scare her. She won't even go.up to the decorated houses during trick or treat anymore because of all the assholes who think it's funny to make things pop out at kids. It seems Halloween is becoming less about kids getting a chance to enjoy their childhood and more about dreadful adults who insist making it all about them. I'm tired of it. So are my kids.
I don't blame them for calling the cops, some sicko will kill somebody and act like it's Halloween decorations.
These comments restored my respect for people. Those displays were disgusting
There’s a difference between “fun and spooky” and “straight up gore.”
Its good for the adults but NOT for the kids. If things like this should be displayed then it should be kept for adult private parties only. And to use dummies like kids is totally wrong. What about parents that have just lost a child seeing this.
Imo the hanging ones were not ok period. The others I think were fine, depending on your point of view. Yes, excessive gore is not kid-friendly, but then again it depends on what actually happens for that particular street. Like one example would be I know people who live places that get literally 0 kids every year because they’re out of the way. If those people have halloween parties with their adult friends, and that’s what theyre decorating for, then I say it’s a cool idea that works.
They’re a bit too realistic for my liking. 😅
Ghosts, fake skeletons, cliche witches, spiderwebs, yeah. That stuff is all in good fun. Gore, hangings, body bags—-sick and disturbed, that is.
Maripat Webber haha
All Hallows Night or Halloween in these modern times has come from verneration of dead ancestors and spirits to outright blatant disrespect like the above ridiculous tableaux. These do NOT represent Halloween. These represent a few people's ideas from stupid movies and misrepresented ideas about what Halloween is. These photos are reprehensible.
Marie deHeryng -
I love macabre halloween decorations, but when people, especially little kids get affected by this it's not fun anymore. They should have done it in their backyard so the whole neighborhood wouldn't have to stare at it until it's taken down.
This is gory and not spooky fun in any way..
It's all fun & games until one of them starts stinking and everyone realizes they're not just decorations anymore. The one with the upside down cross is disturbing but the "crime scene" ones could literally traumatize someone, especially if they've actually seen something like that in real life. What's wrong with people?
AnnSmithJones haha
People talking about how we should 'tell our kids not to be scared of this,'.. have you ever spoken to a child?? Second of all, I'm not a young child and this is still too much in my opinion. There's a line between loving halloween and traumatizing people, whether children or adults. This is just gore for the sake of gore. And so many hangings! The number of people who have lost family members and friends to suicide makes me feel sick, and the lynching refrences are disgusting. Third, the 'well it's MY house' argument doesn't work. You shouldn't be allowed to do this for the same reason your not allowed to have sex in front of your house, as a community you have to uphold the virtues of that community. Some, like the fire and the Micheal Myers house, were cool and very creative! Those were in good taste! Others, sadly, were not.
The decorations were fantastic! (Although the mental state of some is questionable) But they forgot the most important thing of all is "the children!" Think of the affect this might have on them. Tone it down a bit, for them.
These pictures of bodies hanging from trees all look like lynchings to me.
How do they look like lynchings as opposed to other hangings?
They sure do!
I actually wish more of us celebrated Halloween in the way it was intended - to remember our ancestors and lost loved ones. I think going to a graveyard to put flowers and candles on the graves and to raise a glass a lovely way to celebrate. I don't have creepy decorations, I just put out photos of grandparents, brother, friends who have passed on, even the pets I've had over the years, I light candles and put lovely autumnal decorations around the pictures and I spend the time to remember them. Historically an extra place for ancestors would be laid at a table on this day too. You can still party and enjoy yourselves, but in celebration of real people and love and not horror films and psychopathy.
Tracey Tucker like
Sick peoples :( They aren't a joke, just horror.
What the hell is wrong with these people?! Are we that desensitised now, that people think it's ok to have hanged people in their front yards? Horror, yes. Realistic violence, no.
I'm glad my neighborhood was just nice and chill this year. Me and my friend were each in one of those inflatable t rex costumes and we just goofed off! Everyone was passing out candy on disinfected tables in goody bags, including us. When my costume got a hole in it I told the kids "Don't worry! I was only hit by a meteor!" Oh, that was a good night. Halloween shouldn't be scary, it should be fun.
"I was only hit by a meteor!" oml so CUTE!!! 🦖🙃
It's not just kids, I find these too gory and disgusting. I just don't find scenes of murder and suicide funny.
For anyone who says there's nothing wrong with it and it's all about celebrating Halloween, I think the Halloween theme is about communion with the dead and not fear them, not staging disgusting murders or tortures.
Halloween must be the perfect time to get rid of a corpse - just toss it in the garbage on Nov 1st and nobody will suspect a thing...
Wtf is wrong with these people??
Yeah, for adults cool. Kids? THis is some traumatic shieeeett.
I wonder if this year took on an even more macabre and detailed note due to the extra time provided by the lockdown?
Ok. These guys seriously gotta think of the children who might see this. Yes, these are kinda cool and definitely all very unique, but no wonder the police were called! You think people want their kids seeing something like that? They may be able to keep their kids from watching horror movies and reading things that might be too scary for them, but there's nothing they can do to stop their children from seeing those kinds of decor if you're in their neighborhood. Really, think of others around you, goshdangit.
I agree with all you people saying kids should learn not to be scared but this is not how you do it. Most of these decorations would traumatize a young child, making them paranoid in the end.
To be honest,#4 freaked me out more that any of them.
All these decorations are putting my Jack-O-Lanterns to shame
One time when I was really little maybe 9,10, years of age me and my mother stop at a house while trick or treating and a man dressed in a Texas Chainsaw Costume started running at me and some other kids with a real chainsaw my mom was so scared she called the cops he was arrested for attempted attack/murder, I will tell you that scared he ever loving Sh*t out of me.
Faith Bratcher Good response!
.>>>
how the heck could i know that the people that made those decorations that looks like a haunted house bro WHY
People who just have body bags and no jack o lanterns I feel like it seems less halloweeny
I thought halloween shoud be about ghost and monsters. Not murder theme halloween.
These are just gross and tasteless. Even as a 16 year old who loves Halloween, I think whoever made these needs help or needs to keep their talents in the film industry.
Have this become a trend this year??? All bodies wrapped in plastic hanging from all kind of high places, torn bodys, brutally tortured and killed with a lot of blood??? This is not fun-creepy, just over the limit creepy.
Where I live there is an entire block where everyone decorates like that. Each year it gets better (worse) depending on your perspective. Each neighbor tries to out-do everybody else's display. People come from all over the area, and bring their children, to see this exhibition. Major point; this is all done for charity.
I think stuff like this is over the top. Well done but not fun or funny. Also, if we get used to seeing this sort of thing, we become immune to it. What happens when it’s the real thing and the fire department or police stop responding. Having those people respond to a non event is expensive, taxpayers!
Nope! Not funny.
I mean, don't show hunging up fake kids to actual kids. It's scary as f because it's to close to the reality. The fun thing about Halloween is the "Do Witches really exist? Are real ghosts in here?" not some serial killer thing. It's the Hollows eve, not the assassins one.
Rosemari Ferreira Gebbran yes
Just think of all the lawsuits in 20 years' time from the emotionally damaged people who were only 5 years old when they were forced to traverse those front yards of horror to collect candy.
This is not just spooky, this is gross. I thought Halloween was more about spirits and about the dead as in souls. Not corpses and gore.
1337 yes
Some of these are too f****d up and would traumatise young children when they go trick or treating. Personally if my neighbor does this I would take down their decor at night. Screw their messed up minds and horrible taste.