Woman Praised For Her Empathetic Response To Her Neighbor Asking If She Would Take Down Her Halloween Decorations
She put aside her own personal preferences when confronted with her neighbor's personal struggle.
Kit Leong / Shutterstock A South Carolina woman is receiving an influx of praise after she selflessly took down her Halloween decorations after hearing her neighbor's concern. The entire saga was captured on TikTok by Salena Webb, who described herself as a "Halloween lover" who had put out decorations in the front of her house since September. However, she was asked to reconsider what she chose to put out in front of her house for a rather despairing reason.
The son of her elderly neighbor asked her to remove the decorations because his father was diagnosed with cancer.
In the initial video posted by Webb, she had captured the adult son of her two elderly neighbors knocking on her door through security camera footage. The unnamed man, whose face was blurred by Webb, acknowledged the amount of Halloween decorations she had in her front yard.
There was a makeshift graveyard with cardboard tombstones, a giant spiderweb draped over her front porch, and two human-sized skeletons carrying a tiny casket. "Hey, I know you're celebrating Halloween. He just got diagnosed with lung cancer the other day, and you know the thing is kinda scary," her neighbor's son informed her.
He questioned if she would be okay with removing the casket from the front of her house so that his father, who was now facing down the barrel of death, would be more comfortable since his house was directly across from her and he had a clear view of the morbid Halloween decorations.
Instead of making a big fuss, or refusing to do it, Webb, without a second thought, removed all the caskets and other decorations. "We took it down because kindness is free," she wrote in overlay text.
Webb admitted that she didn't want her neighbor to feel uncomfortable, especially with such a serious diagnosis.
In an interview with Insider, Webb explained that she had felt compelled to take down her decorations because her neighbor's son had been incredibly respectful and friendly about the issue, as well as the fact that she had always gotten along with her elderly neighbors. She explained that the husband and wife are both Russian and have a limited English vocabulary, but they've always been kind to her and have even exchanged vegetables from her garden and toys for their grandchildren.
"He starts to tell me that his father was diagnosed with lung cancer," she told the publication. "And then he started to talk about my Halloween decorations. I'm like, 'What do my decorations really have to do with this?'"
That's when it all clicked for Webb. She realized that his father was dealing with mortality and seeing Halloween decorations was most likely not helping him cope with the news of such a serious diagnosis like lung cancer. She also shared that her neighbor frequently hangs out in his garage and has a perfect view of Webb's front yard, so for her, it was a "no-brainer" to remove them.
At first, Webb had only removed the caskets, but after a day went by, she decided to take down her skeletons too.
"I am a constant reminder of what could possibly happen if he does not kick cancer's [expletive]," Webb continued, "and I don't want to cause that stress to someone else. I'm a little sad about it, but it's not about me in this moment. There's always next year for me."
In a follow-up TikTok video, Webb shared that she had ended up moving all of her decorations to her backyard so that they would be out of her neighbor's viewpoint, but she would still get to enjoy the Halloween season.
"Kindness is free but some of you can't even afford that," she wrote in the video's caption. "What happened to loving your neighbor ... It's a simple request to give your neighbor a little peace of mind during such a hard time."
In the comments section, while some people pointed out that the request was absurd and they wouldn't have removed any of their decorations, others praised Webb for showing compassion when she didn't have to.
"His explanation was so heartfelt. It’s so kind of you to respond in the same way," one TikTok user wrote, while another user added, "It was courageous of him going to you to ask and it was courageous of you to respect his wishes even though you didn’t have to. Blessings to you!"
Webb's empathetic response to her neighbor's request is a shining example of humanity at its best, and her demonstration of understanding and kindness when confronted with her neighbor's personal struggle, when she didn't have to, is something to be commended.
Her gesture reminds us that grace sometimes requires us to set aside our own personal preferences for the well-being of others, and in a time when differing opinions often lead to strife and conflict, Webb's actions are a testament to how far tenderness can go.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.