Thread: I'm getting new neighbors, again.

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We moved in now 5 years ago.

Our next door neighbors at that time were renting the house. They were also Raiders fans, loved halloween, and had 5 daughters either babysitting age or approaching it. PERFECT neighbors for us.

Last year, the home owners divorced, and the wife moved into the 'rental', kicking out our neighbors in the process. Fortunately, they bought a house a mere block away. These new neighbors proceeded to call the cops on me in April as I suppose it looked a little odd to see me out staining 50ish skulls and setting them up on pikes. (to be fair, one of the stain colors was a dead ringer for blood while it was wet, all dripping down my arms)

Well, the cops are all fans, and they walked into the back "Oh, THIS house. I look forward to seeing your setup." Then we had a good laugh about it with the neighbors. They were very nice near Halloween, no complaints on the floodlights the weekend prior, no complaints on the music night of.

Well, their plan was only to live there a year, fix up the house, and sell it. That time has come as they put up the sign this weekend.

So, here's my dillema. Most the time my stuff is hidden all year. However, I got 2 buckys to corpsify, my son is building himself a little headhunter hut, I'm planning on making roughly 80 more skulls, and at some point I'm going to have to test out the support system I'm planning to impale these buckys up 10' in the air.

I was planning to do the corpsing in the back yard, so as not to stink up the garage. And was going to build a couple of stands next weekend, as well as get the framework up for the hut starting next weekend.

I can just imagine an open house, all these prospective buyers walking through the house, looking at the nice paint, new carpet, etc, then heading into the back yard to see 2 dead bodies and 40 skulls hanging in the neighbors yard.

While that would likely be a huge selling point for ME....

Should I try to keep it all more hidden than I had really planned, or is it better for the prospective buyers to know they got a wierdo living next door in advance?

I would put out a few non horrific Halloween related items. Example A sign that reads thsi family celebrates halloween year round. Or Hang a garland of skulls around your door. ok that would be too much.. I would be subtle but to the point, so that you won't get nonfriendly Halloween haters..

Hmm, my countdown sign is fairly easy access...

Make sure to talk to the potential buyers about if they like dead bodies or not...lol

humm why not do a nice decorative sign that says this family loves halloween 365 days a year ? LOL

hehehe so at least the new neibourghs are warned in a way that you are into halloween ALOT hehehehehe

maybe tone down on the dead bodies or very gross stuff for the open house , if they have a real estate agent they can also provide kindly that info to the potential buyers that they have very good neibourgs but that they love halloween and that is your hobby...i know if i was shopping for a new house i would like to know what kind of neibourghs i would be getting.

i still would go with the sign hehehe

LOL...I was just thinking about what Mr. Halloween said... I could see the conversation now... Walking in on potential buyers with a bucky skull in hand... asking them if they like dead bodies... then ask them how full THEIR basements are...

I think the sign would be a good idea, and also what the Canadian Witch said...perhaps mention it to the realtor...

OR...line the side of the house with tombstones and bucky's...they'll get the picture.

I'm going to be the stick in the mud... sorry in advance, and I'm sure many will disagree.

I'm obviousy a huge Halloween fan and love decorating my house, but I'm going to pretend that I'm someone who is trying to sell their house. If I'm selling my house regardless of whether or not I'm a fan of Halloween, in the current housing market I wouldn't want my Halloween fanatic neighbor screwing up a potential deal with a buyer by displaying Halloween decorations (especially along the lines of very realistic skulls/skeletons or any other gory images) in March/April. If I'm selling my house in October (or even September), that's my problem, but I personally think you should keep your stuff in hiding while they're having an open house in March/April.

That's just my opinion considering how bad the housing market has gotten in most parts of the country and houses are staying on the market for numerous months these days. Your neighbor doesn't need an additional obstacle. Just trying to put out a different perspective, even though I'm really on your side.

I think having a really nice decorative sign, something to the effect of what A Witch From Canada suggested, is a really sweet and non-invasive idea

Tbh, I'm sure that if the potential buyer had any issue with what they saw (i.e. a man in his back yard with lots of fake skulls..) they would in all likelihood discuss it with the homeowner, even if it was just in jest. As your neighbours are aware of your love of Halloween and know it is quite harmless they would hopefully put the buyer's mind at rest by explaining that you are a Halloween enthusiast and are not, in fact, a serial killer who enjoys displaying the remains of his victims on his lawn lol

Just do what you would ordinarily do. Your neighbor already knows you, and she hasn't made any special requests to hide the halloween stuff, right?

Just be yourself. That's fair to both your neighbor and the prospective buyer, who might not be too happy finding out later (if they have hangups about halloween being, say "Satan's birthday party," for instance--and who in the hell wants neighbors like that, anyway? You have no obligation to help sell a house by hiding your hobby--or religion, or whatever.)

Openness all round, I'd say. Be yourself. If that ain't good enough, well...

I say always be who you are. The prospective buyers might as well know who they are moving next to from the get go. Besides if you try to hide who you are you might risk a real non-halloween fanatic moving in. Stay true to yourself and Haunt on!!