Scares, laughter, and a little bit of darkness are all part of the spooky season. We anticipate seeing eerie decorations everywhere at this time of year. The joyous holiday season is not yet here.
But it doesn’t mean we can’t be kind just because Halloween is coming up. In a TikTok video that has now gone viral, a Halloween enthusiast offered this message.
Salena Webb is a huge Halloween fan. She is a South Carolina mother of four who, like many others, decorates her yard with Halloween decorations to celebrate. Salena set up a whole cemetery scenario in her front yard, replete with skeletons carrying a casket, ghosts, spiderwebs, pumpkins, a witch, and tombstones. Setting up the display takes a long time. However, when her neighbor arrived came to ask her to take it down, she agreed.
Her neighbor asked her to remove some decorations to make things easier for his elderly father.
Salena shared the moment her neighbor visited her to make the request in a TikTok video. In the video, the neighbor explains, “Hey, I know you’re celebrating Halloween. My dad just got diagnosed with lung cancer. He thinks the decorations are a bit scary.” He then points to the graveyard scene and asks, “Would you mind taking just the casket out?”
Salena felt sympathetic right away. Since her neighbor’s dad often spends time in his garage, which faces her yard, she understood why removing the casket was important. “I didn’t want to be a reminder of what could happen if he doesn’t beat cancer,” she told Insider. “I didn’t want to add stress to someone else’s life.”
Salena handed the skeletons badminton rackets in place of the casket. The scarier decorations were moved to her backyard. In her TikTok caption, Salena stated, “At first, I was a little sad, but I realized that taking away the casket wouldn’t hurt me, but it might help my neighbor, who is dealing with this news, feel better.” Compassion is powerful, and kindness is free.
Salena received a lot of acclaim for her generosity. After sharing the video, she questioned her followers about what they would have done in her shoes. Many commended Salena for her empathy, while others stated they wouldn’t have removed their decorations.
This is the essence of being a good neighbor. There is no cost to being kind. “Thank you!” wrote one user.
Someone else commented, “This was handled beautifully.” More people like you are needed in the world! May God bless you!
Salena’s generosity was also appreciated by her neighbor. She gave him some balloons and a note after removing the coffin. She could see he was grateful despite their limited language skills. “You’re good people,” he said to her.
