Thread: For those that live in 'hoods where houses are close to each other....

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How do you manage your setup? I grew up rural and our previous houses have been in counties with very gracious spacing requirements. I've never had a neighbor of close proximity to worry about.

This year, I've had to really tighten up the setup so the lights can all face our house, etc...
I'm curious how the fog machine will affect the neighbors... but since we are moving in 3 weeks... who cares, right?

What lengths have you had to go to to avoid pissing off the neighbors? Tips for people like me would be appreciated.

Thanks

Our houses are VERY close, as in maybe 18 feet apart! We are fortunate to have understanding neighbors that appreciate the haunt, but we take care not to be intrusive. Lighting is directed ino our yard and not out so that it shines in their windows. Sound system is cranked for the two hours of TOT but then turned down for another hour while stragglers and friends come to visit. Since we get over 600 TOT's, crowd control is sometimes an issue so we're careful to keep guests off the neioghbors lawns and on the sidewalks. The one neighboe allows our guests to exit our yard through a divider gate and down their driveway. There are screams and some loud noises for the TOT hours but it tones down quickly and we wrap everything up by 9:30-10.p.m as the neighbors on either side of us are elderly. Essentially keep an eye on your patrons and make sure they aren't being disruptive. Even if you're moving soon, leave on a good note.

Yep, I do the same as jdubbya. Additionally, I only do the haunt on the one night and decline any media inquiries.

We don't get along with neighbors who are closest to us. So I do anything I want with the hopes that I am making them mad for this one night since they do it to us the other 364 days a year. Neighbors on the other side are nice people and there is an empty lot that separates us so all is good. In fact everyone else on the street enjoys what we do.

Our houses are pretty close together. I have minimal lighting up front but on Halloween night I will have four foggers going. I'm not worried about bothering the neighbors on one side because their dog barks 24-7 365 days and nights a year...hope the dog chokes on the fog

haunting a new neighborhood this year, and since I started setting up, I actually started meeting people on the street. everyone has been very positive. Hopefully more people will decorate next year.

Try to be as nice as possible (but still firm). Answer any questions they have. Be willing to compromise on at least the small things. Use the neighbors that like the haunt as allies.

And if you have an unreasonable neighbor... hope that the cops are cool and love halloween

Houses in my neighborhood are pretty close too. I generally don't worry too much about lighting or decor as it is very contained in my yard. I don't use too many lights as we have a street light right at the end of the driveway and the sound is generally audible if you're right in front of the house, but not loud enough to bother.

We get regular foot traffic and there isn't a walkthrough, just a display, so I couldn't see how that would bother them either.

We shut everything down around 10pm. Most of the time neighbors are still out drinking and playing pool (in their garages - WTH is with folks in this area using their garages as a rec room??? ) till all hours, so they are more disturbing than my display.

The problem I run into is keeping the neighbor kids from going inside my fencing and running the risk of injury or damage to my props. I've warned them several times, but they tend to get excited and forget.

Our old house was less than 10' from the neighbors. Don't focus on not pissing them off - focus on being friends with them. We offered to cut our neighbors grass if we could inch into their side yard a little - they were more than ok with that. We only put stuff up that encroached on our neighbors on Halloween night - everything else was strictly in our yard. Both of our neighbors loved it and I always made special goody bags for their kids. We let them help setup and everyone had a great time. Let them join in the fun, they'll be a lot more responsive.

Stacy