FOR most families, the arrival of autumn means cosy jumpers, pumpkin spice lattes, and the fun-filled anticipation of Halloween and Bonfire Night.
But for Emma Parsons-Reid, a self-confessed “nightmare neighbour” who is constantly at war with her local community, it’s her most “hated time of the year.”
Emma Parsons-Reid, from Cardiff, South Wales, is self-confessed as Britain’s nosiest neighbourCredit: Huw Evans
She tells Fabulous why Halloween is her most dreaded time of yearCredit: Supplied
Stars such as Stacey Solomon love decorating their doors for HalloweenCredit: Instagram
The 58-year-old has become known for her brutally honest opinions – from wanting – and this year Emma is Britain’s ultimate Halloween Scrooge.
She loathes the decorations, the trick-or-treaters, the fireworks, and the general “Americanisation” of a formerly quiet season.
“I think my decorate their just to wind me up,” she says.
“Those six-foot-tall skeleton decorations are an absolute abomination.”
For Emma, Halloween is one of her “most hated times of the year” before .
“I absolutely hate it,” she says.
“Now rather than just for one night, Halloween is lasting for the whole month. I can’t stand those godawful decorations.
“Then, even worse, the fireworks start to go off long before Bonfire Night… they’re going off from the beginning of October. I’d ban the fireworks completely if I had my way.”
Her major grievance isn’t just the noise, but the effect on local wildlife and .
“It really gets up my goat because animals are so distressed,” she explains.
Molly-Mae Hague previously showed off the ‘mini pumpkin patch’ at her Cheshire mansionCredit: Instagram
“Hedgehogs, all the animals really, they go to bed for the night and then suddenly they’re woken up by Armageddon fireworks.
“I can tolerate it because everybody’s going to one place… but it’s when everyone’s letting them off in their gardens, that drives me mad.
“I got hit on the head by a firework… and honestly, it threw me to the floor.”
After “industrial rockets” one year, her frustration boiled over.
My neighbour currently has a huge skeleton on their wall. They’re just so ugly
Emma Parsons-Reid
“I screamed over the fence at my neighbours. My language was terrible, nobody was expecting that but it was a shock,” she says.
“The following day, aside from the smell of everything, you’re picking up rocket sticks and empty Catherine wheels that fly everywhere, you’re picking them up for days after.”
And if the noise of rockets wasn’t enough, the ever-increasing extravagance of neighbour Halloween decorations pushes Emma to her limit.
Emma’s had more than a few neighbour rows over the yearsCredit: Gareth Iwan Jones – Commissioned by The Sun
“It’s just becoming more and more competitive every year,” she sighs.
She particularly hates the “cobwebs over everything,” which she believes are a nuisance to wildlife.
“They don’t take them down straight away. They leave them up for many weeks after.
“My neighbour currently has a huge skeleton on their wall. It must be six foot by five foot high. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s awful. They’re just so ugly.”
There’s a reason Emma is particularly dreading Halloween this yearCredit: Emma Parsons-Reid
Emma feels the whole celebration is overly commercial and Americanised.
She says: “Who wants all these sodding pumpkins on their doorsteps, who really cares about Halloween like that? All the doorscaping is a waste of time in my eyes. It’s awful to look at.”
And while she rarely confronts her neighbours directly, she makes her feelings known.
“Oh, they know how I feel about their decorations for sure. I often look over to them with a bad face and tutt about it.
“I honestly think they probably do more decorations just to wind me up.”
Take this year for example, Halloween is falling on a Friday which means it’ll probably go on till half nine. I’m really dreading it.
Emma Parsons-Reid
For Emma, Halloween is a personal intrusion of her privacy.
“I have to go along with it when the trick or treaters come round because one year they glued my locks together and I couldn’t get back in,” she admits.
“I had to get the locksmith out and it cost me a fortune.”
Now, she and her husband Kevin, a retired chemical engineer, 64, take turns answering the door, knowing their evening is ruined anyway.
“My husband and I, we often look at each other and roll our eyes. He’s curmudgeonly as well,” she admits.
“We don’t bother trying to watch a program we like because you’re stopping and starting it all the time.”
Emma has a specific time of the evening that she can stand, but after that she can’t bear it.
She says: “It’s six till eight I find that I can tolerate the most, those two hours. But anything before or after that drives me mentally.”
Emma is praying for rain this HalloweenCredit: Supplied
She dreads school holidays and weekends.
“Take this year for example, Halloween is falling on a Friday which means it’ll probably go on till half nine. I’m really dreading it,” she says.
She also fears older children who are trick or treating as well as they can be “quite threatening and scary.”
Comparing it to Bonfire Night, she says: “I prefer bonfire night in a sense, because at least you’re not bothered personally.”
Halloween, however, is a direct attack on her peace.
She says: “You are interrupted in your own home and you are disturbed in your own home.
“I just hope it rains this year. It might sound horrible to say, but that way I won’t be disturbed and there will be less trick or treaters.”
