Human Interest 5 Times Halloween Decorations Went Wrong These Halloween decorations caused so much chaos, the authorities got involved By Stephanie Sengwe Published on October 31, 2023 02:08PM EDT Close Halloween Decorations. Photo: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty When the spirit of Halloween takes over, sometimes you can't help but go above and beyond in the decorating department. Such is the case for these Halloween lovers, whose ornamentations prompted intervention from the authorities. While each case was different, one thing remains true: spooky season is never without drama! Check out these five recent instances in which Halloween decorations went too far. 01 of 05 A 'House on Fire' in New York The Glens Falls Fire Department in New York was put on high alert on Sept. 30, when a call came in, reporting that a house in their district was seemingly on fire. It turned out though, that the home in question had simply been decked out in hyper-realistic Halloween decorations. In a video posted to Facebook, you can see it seems the residence is engulfed in orange flames blazing in every window of the house, with a smoke-like haze seemingly clinging to the outside. Luckily, the fire department figured out what was what. "Tonight crews were dispatched to the area of Sanford St. for a report of a confirmed structure fire,” the caption of the video read. “To our surprise, this was an amazing Halloween decoration, This display will be up Friday and Saturday nights for the public’s entertainment until the end of the month.” 02 of 05 Dead Body Appears on the Side of the Street in Iowa Over in Iowa, an officer of the Grundy Center Police Department got the scare of her life the morning of Oct. 27, when she discovered what appeared to be a dead body on the side of the road as she was on patrol. Thankfully, it was just a prop. "Halloween is an…interesting time of year on patrol. The storm that just passed through moved someone’s decoration. If you saw me slam on the brakes this morning - this is why," the department's chief Alissa Twyford wrote on their official Facebook account. 03 of 05 Pole Dancing Skeleton Causes a Frenzy in Utah A pole dancing skeleton had residents of Grantsville, Utah, buzzing. According to an Instagram post shared by local news outlet The Ogdenite, city officials of the Utah town were not happy with the cheeky skeleton display. In a screenshot originally posted by Grantsville City’s official Facebook account, which has since been deleted, a skeleton can be seen hanging from a street sign while two other skeletons appear to be watching the funny scene. Above the photo, Grantsville City addressed their message to “the person responsible for this display”: "You have until 9pm tonight (October 18) to take down your decorations or they will be removed by the city. Displays like this are not acceptable as it is against city code to attach anything to a street sign." In an interview with Fox 13 News Utah, the owner of the home admitted that his Halloween setup may be a little “risqué” for some people, but it was “all in the name of fun.” A clip of a neighbor trying to cut down the skeleton multiple times was also shown. 04 of 05 When Things Got Too Bloody in Dallas Back in 2020, Steven Novak, a Dallas resident, became the talk of the town after the homeowner created a bloody massacre display on his front lawn ahead of Halloween. The frightening scene, which prompted neighbors to call the Dallas Police Department, included dummies lying on the ground in pools of fake blood, a number of props — a safe, a knife, fake limbs, a wheelbarrow and a chainsaw — and fake bodies wrapped in garbage bags. "I am shocked that it has become such a huge deal around the nation," Novak told PEOPLE at the time, after the gory exhibit took the Internet by storm. "I’m an artist and make stuff outside all the time," he explains. "My neighbors told me I should do something for Halloween." The fare only inspired Novak to double down. The artist was back at it in 2021, when he put up an even grislier scene on his front yard. "All the cops that came out last year were an absolute gas," he told the Dallas Observer at the time. "I welcome them to come out and take more selfies." 05 of 05 The Guillotine Babies in Utah Halloween pic. Getty Much to their neighbors' horror, one Utah family decorated their yard with a display of ... dead babies. Julie Bawden told CBS affiliate KUTV that she and her family enjoy the challenge each year of creating a creepy and original Halloween display in their Brigham City front yard. “It’s fun, we can kind of be creative with our ideas,” she said. “We come up with new ideas every year, we get to buy all the fun stuff.” But their neighbors weren't as amused, with many in particular taking issue with a large guillotine beheading baby dolls. Bawden said several people complained to the city council about the decorations, and that she received not one, but two visits from city council members checking in, though she adds that they “thought it was all fun.” “How far are they going to go? Where are we going to stop?” neighbor Claudia Perry told KUTV. “The babies out there and that kind of thing, that’s going way too far.” Bawden, however, stood by her family's decorations. "I’m not sure why they can’t just let us have a good time and be creative,” she said. “If it was more realistic, if the dolls were crying and moving around, I would feel like maybe that would be crossing the line a little bit, but I don’t think we are.”