Trick or heat.
A spirited South Carolina couple is pleading with their neighbors to stop calling 911 over their elaborate Halloween decoration that makes their home appear as if it’s engulfed in flames.
Sam Lee and Amanda Riggins Peden said that the same night they turned on their eye-catching setup at their Fountain Inn home on Oct. 3, the local fire department received three or four calls reporting the house as being on fire, they told TODAY.com.
The display is equipped with lights that appear as orange glowing flames in every window of the home and is accompanied by a thick cloud of smoke billowing out from under the porch.
The Halloween enthusiasts, not wanting the 911 calls to continue throughout the spooky season, posted a video of their home on Facebook to assure neighbors the display was a festive illusion.
“Our house will be on fire (not real fire) as Halloween decorations every night from 8-10 PM between now and October 31,” Peden wrote. “Please do not call the fire department again!”
Lee, the former mayor of Fountain Inn, said that they have been putting up detailed decorations at their home, located about 20 miles outside of Greenville, for the last five years, and first displayed the “fire house” in 2023.
While the festive display is all about getting people into the holiday spirit, the couple understands that not everyone will be a fan of it.
“Most people appreciate it, but you’ve got the one percent who are never happy with anything,” Lee told TODAY.com.
“There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like it,” Peden said, adding that her 15-year-old son loves seeing their home appear all over TikTok.
Fountain Inn Fire Department Chief Russell Alexander said that when the display first went up, the fire department received about 30 calls in October regarding the house.
“The first year, we were inundated with phone calls from people driving by the home,” Alexander told TODAY.com. “This year hasn’t been as bad … we’ve only had a few calls from people who are new to the area.”
Despite knowing the setup is only a decoration, Alexander said his department still sends a truck each time a call comes in — just to be safe.
“It’s bad practice to not send a truck and, ethically, I can’t take that liability,” Alexander shared. “If we get a call, we’re sending a truck, no matter what.”
A viral TikTok video of the home, viewed nearly 25 million times since being posted on Saturday, garnered some harsh reactions to the vivid display.
“This should 100% be illegal,” one user wrote.
“It does look cool, but that honestly should be illegal. Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf lol,” another commented.
“Change color. Think of your family’s safety- if it’s actually on fire and people tried to call it in, they’ll be dismissed,” wrote one user.
However, others were enamored with the display’s authenticity.
“Very cool! But looks very realistic! I would have been one of the people calling as well,” one commenter said.
“This is dope AF, but what if you have a real fire and no one calls because they think it’s just the decorations,” another added.
While a handful of people are fooled into believing the home is engulfed in flames, Alexander said the Halloween display doesn’t resemble a real house on fire, as it usually generates smoke that moves faster and varies in color.
As for Lee and Peden, they plan to keep their spooky traditions alive.
In 2021, they made their home appear as if an aviation disaster had happened on their front lawn, displaying a broken plane filled with skeleton passengers — one dangling from a tree by a parachute.
The following year, the couple staged a mock car crash featuring an overturned van with a 12-foot skeleton trapped inside.
“It’s just gotten crazier and crazier every year,” Lee said.
Read the full article here
