Homeowner receives complaints after setting up Halloween display in August

FAIRFIELD, Ohio (WXIX/Gray News) - An Ohio homeowner says she has received complaints from community members for putting up her annual Halloween display earlier than usual this year.

Marianne Peters is continuing her Halloween tradition with her “Nightmare on Bibury Street” display, but she says her timing this year led to some complaints to the city.

Peters’ Halloween setup normally begins each year in the second week of August. However, this year it became more important than ever to get a head start on the display because her husband has cancer.

“You could’ve come to me and said something like, ‘Hey, why?’ and I would’ve explained to them why I did it so early,” Peters said.

According to Peters, the Halloween display in her yard takes more than 100 hours to complete and take down.

She says for seven years, she’s been building and changing the display, which is free for people to walk through and enjoy. But this year the city has contacted her twice about complaints regarding it.

“It broke my heart and made me upset because all my neighbors try to help me if they see me out here,” Peters said.

The city of Fairfield told Peters she was not doing anything wrong and that she could keep her Halloween decorations up.

Peters said the city did suggest that maybe she wait a week or two later for the Halloween setup, but she needed more time to put everything together due to her husband’s health.

“My husband was diagnosed a year ago with cancer, so he can’t do as much after his chemo for two weeks,” Peters said. “People don’t know what’s going on in other people’s lives. If I was disrupting somebody or bothering people … I’m not.”

The homeowner shared that despite the complaints it still means so much to her to be able to share the Halloween decorations with the community.

Peters said she has already received hundreds of supportive comments on social media regarding her display.

“I cried – it means a lot to me because I do put a lot into this,” Peters said. “I just do it because the kids love it, and the adults love it too.”

Peters says anyone can visit her display on Bibury Street.

On Halloween night she is expecting around 300 visitors and this year she plans to also have actors playing monsters.