After two years of pandemic restrictions, Ellie and Jake were ecstatic to finally celebrate their favorite holiday—Halloween. With unmatched enthusiasm, they spent hours transforming their front yard into a spooky (but silly) spectacle: skeletons posed in ridiculous positions, tombstones with punny names, and a massive spider with oversized googly eyes hanging from a web. It was more quirky than creepy.
Just as they finished admiring their handiwork, a furious knock shattered the moment. A red-faced neighbor stormed to their door.
“You need to take all this crap down!” he yelled.
Confused, Ellie asked what the issue was.
“My wife has arachnophobia! Your fake spider almost gave her a heart attack,” he barked.
Ellie chuckled and gestured toward the googly-eyed spider. “That thing? It wouldn’t scare a toddler.”
Big mistake.
The man exploded, claiming to be a retired cop and threatening to “make it a real problem” if they didn’t take everything down.
Unnerved but firm, Ellie refused. “We’ve waited two years for this. These decorations are important to us, and they’re not even realistic.”
“Then expect consequences!” he shouted, stomping away.
Jake installed a doorbell camera that night. The decorations stayed up.
And that giant spider with the wobbly googly eyes? It’s now the talk of the neighborhood—and not because it’s scary.
