Thread: When people steal

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I hate people who steal my halloween props. Recently my neighbor saw someone who was about to steal something of mine and when she went outside he ran away. And last year someone stoll one of my groundbreakers. My god that makes me so angry.

I'm so sorry that happened to you.

That's why I don't put out major stuff until the day of. I don't want to risk losing anything I worked hard on/spent big bucks on, and sometimes the temptation is just too much for the average jerk on the street.

I've actually never even had a pumpkin smashed, so I'm debating about putting out some stuff a week or so earlier, but I would just be heartbroken if something was taken.

Maybe try some bright floodlights at night, and wire stuff down/together so it's a pain to try to steal? Still sucks that you'd have to do that extra stuff just to keep what is already yours...

If more people and thier neighbors just shot criminals perhaps there would be less of this. Hang them along the roadways like ancient times.

Put up security lights around the display. The motion detector type. We did our displays without any probs. then one year someone stole one of my huge blow mold pumpkins in the back yard and pulled down part of my strand of pumpkin lights from my garage roof. After that I drilled holes in the back of my pumpkins and threaded bike cables through them. I padlock them to the front porch and trees.
Our biggest theft was when a sales person came to our door and commented on our lovely gargoyles in the back yard. It was about July. We didn't think anything of it but, a few days later they disappeared. They were the $120 heavy cement types too with the spread wings! She must of had a big boyfriend because, I could barely lift them.

scary I'm so sorry that happened to you and almost happened again. You have a good neighbor there though looking out for you. I would only put major things out the day of.

Until last year, never had a problem. This is despite the fact our haunt is out there virtually the entire month of October.

Last year was the first time someone stole something, coincidentally, a gargoyle. Strangely enough, it was out there the entire month and was only stolen on Halloween night. I noticed it was gone when I started dismantling things the next morning. Admittedly, after noticing the square patch of dead grass, it took a few seconds for me to realize what had happened.

"Why is that square patch of grass dead?", I wondered.

"D'oh!"

The guy on the left of the cemetery entrance had been gargnapped:



I wasn't so pissed as I was disappointed. It's a really good neighbourhood and I haven't had a problem in the many years I've been doing this. Given the weight of the thing, it had to be done by car some time during the wee hours of November 1st, likely by someone who had noticed it earlier in the evening when the crowds were milling about.

The manager at the local Winners/HomeSense, who sees me in the store every few weeks and always asks about the haunt's progress, made a point of taking my number down after I told her about the "incident" and called me as soon as the new gargs showed up a couple of months ago. For every bonehead out there stealing gargoyles you find someone good like her; it's positive karma.

Had to buy a pair because they didn't have one in a colour that matched the one that had been stolen. I negotiated $45 a pop - from $60 - so it was fine. It's still an amazing deal at the regular price as those of you who've seen the gargs at HomeSense know. They're awesome.

Needless to say, I've learned my lesson. I'm still displaying for the entire month (slight delay this year due to a trip) because if I don't, the gargoyle terrorists will have won. But, yesterday, I picked up a bunch of padlocks and a length of chain from RenoDepot. My little friends are going to be tethered to that big tree behind them.

I also keep a well-worn Slugger (tm) by the front door, just in case my timing is good enough to add a new corpse to the cemetery.

JD

Ya gotta love people with sticky fingers who riuns the halloween buzz for all of us!!

I told this story on here last year but this topic always makes me re-live it. Five years ago at Christmastime we decorated with these huge lighted deer that were imported from Mexico (cost about $150 apiece) and they were stolen during the night about 2 weeks before Christmas. We ran ads in the paper offering rewards and put up flyers and everything. We never got them back though.

I NEVER put out anything until a couple of days before Halloween 'cause PEOPLE SUCK!!!!

Sorry this happened to you all! It would only take ONE incident for me to never decorate again...at least outside.

Happened to us also the first year (3 yrs ago) that we had this house. Put out some styrofoam tombstones (luckily cheap ones) one evening around 930pm. Next morning at 630am they were gone. Learned a lesson. Like SouthernBelle says people suck.