It’s spooky season—a time filled with fun, frights, and a hint of darkness. This is the time of year when eerie decorations appear everywhere, setting the mood for Halloween. It’s not quite time for the cheerful holiday season yet.
But Halloween’s approach doesn’t mean we can’t still show kindness. One Halloween enthusiast, Salena Webb, shared a heartfelt message in a TikTok video that has since gone viral.
Salena, a mother of four from South Carolina, loves Halloween. Like many others, she decorates her yard each year, this time creating an elaborate graveyard scene with ghosts, spiderwebs, pumpkins, witches, tombstones, and skeletons carrying a casket. Setting up took a lot of time, but when her neighbor asked her to make a change, she didn’t hesitate.
The neighbor politely requested that she adjust her decorations for the sake of his elderly father.
Salena captured this request in a TikTok video, where her neighbor explained, “Hey, I know you’re celebrating Halloween. My dad was just diagnosed with lung cancer, and he finds the decorations a bit frightening.” He pointed to the graveyard setup and asked, “Would you mind just removing the casket?”
Salena empathized with the situation immediately. Since her neighbor’s father often sits in his garage facing her yard, she understood how the casket could be distressing. “I didn’t want to remind him of what might happen if he doesn’t beat cancer,” she shared with Insider. “I didn’t want to add stress to their lives.”
In response, Salena removed the casket, replacing it with skeletons holding badminton rackets, and moved the scarier decorations to her backyard. “I felt a little sad at first,” she admitted in her TikTok caption, “but I realized that removing the casket wouldn’t hurt me and could help my neighbor feel better as he faces this news. Kindness is free, and compassion goes a long way.”
Many viewers praised Salena for her empathy. She posted the video asking followers what they would have done, and while some said they wouldn’t have removed their decorations, many applauded her thoughtfulness.
“This is what being a good neighbor is all about. Kindness costs nothing. Thank you!” one user commented.
Another wrote, “This was beautifully handled. The world needs more people like you! God bless you!”
Salena’s neighbor also appreciated her gesture. After she removed the casket, she brought him a card and balloons. Although there was a language barrier between them, his gratitude was clear. He told her, “You’re good people.”
@thatsnorthsense Replying to @JennAngel 🪱🌈🪐☁️🪅💠 maybe some can now understand why they were a little touchy about it and at night theres fog that i have come out from it🤣 so i get it.. #Thatsnorthsense #dailyvlog #compassionforothers #halloween2023 #loveyourneighborasyourself ♬ original sound – Salena|GardenLife|DailyLife
