A Reddit user shared a post to r/AmITheJerk describing his decision to shut off his Halloween decorations in the middle of a group tour hosted by his entitled neighbor. He said that, while he could've been a bit less insensitive, his neighbor allowed strangers onto his property to pose and take pictures in front of his elaborate Halloween decorations, which was something he never agreed to. And now, his neighbor is angry with him.
The Redditor began by explaining that, over the past two weeks, he's been decorating his yard for Halloween and went above and beyond with animatronics, a fog machine, and special lighting effects. These special effects made his property an instant attraction.
Now, his neighbor has a tradition of doing Halloween walking tours in October and asked if he would allow the people in his group to see the decorations. The writer said he agreed because he saw nothing wrong with them admiring his work.
Fast-forward to the day of the tour, and the writer said his neighbor showed up with a group of roughly 20 people, all part of his tour. He said they began by taking photos of the decorations from the sidewalk, but then his neighbor invited them onto his property for a closer encounter.
The Redditor Shut Off His Halloween Decorations Mid-Tour
The writer said they entered his yard without his consent, posed for photos with his decorations, and some went as far as to sit on his front step. That's when he came outside and confronted his neighbor, reminding him that he had agreed to let people look from the sidewalk, but not parade around his private property.
The neighbor then tried to explain that he had advertised the tour as an interactive photo stop, since that was the experience they had paid for. But the homeowner reminded him again that this wasn't part of their agreement. Desperate, his neighbor asked him to allow the group to finish their "interactive experience" since they had already begun taking photos.
But the homeowner refused to bargain with him and instead cut off the power to the decorations. His reaction obviously angered his neighbor, who blamed him for ruining the tour and said that the patrons would either leave bad reviews of his tour or demand their money back.
Looking back, he said he understands how shutting down all the decorations without warning seemed a bit dramatic, although he believes his neighbor should've asked permission before promising strangers access to his private property.
Reacting to the post, many commenters agreed with the way he handled the situation. They said it's his property, so he has a right to allow or prohibit whoever he wants. Additionally, they said he should've asked his entitled neighbor for a share of the profits from the tour, since he was using his yard as a main attraction.
One commenter wrote, "NTA. And he should have included you with payment, if he wanted to use YOUR yard to make money. Good for you, OP, for ending the show. Neighbor was not satisfied his own yard, had to infiltrate your yard too, and charge others for the pleasure, too!"
A separate commenter said it's best to keep people on the sidewalk to avoid liability issues. They wrote, "There’s liability issues if someone is injured on your property. Best to keep folks in the sidewalk."
Another commenter said they would've done the same thing because trespassing is illegal. They wrote, "NTJ, I would have done the exact same thing. He is advertising and receiving payments for something illegal (trespassing on your property). He should have discussed with you first and even paid you for people trampling your grass."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the account shared by the Reddit user, which was posted to the r/AmITheJerk subreddit on Reddit.
