Halloween Displays and Safety Warnings Stir UK and US Neighborhoods

Elaborate home displays, community events and safety warnings have combined to make this Halloween season both a spectacle and a source of tension in neighborhoods across the United Kingdom and the United States. From lavish decorations that draw crowds to controversies over who may join trick-or-treating, residents and officials are wrestling with how to balance celebration, public safety and local order.

In Liverpool and parts of London, homeowners have invested heavily in seasonal displays, transforming façades and front gardens into scenes inspired by classic horror films and Halloween staples. Samantha Smith, 39, said she spends thousands of pounds each year building displays that now draw visitors from miles away and have become a charitable effort. In west London’s Kensington and Chelsea, some residents engaged a floral designer to create high-end skeleton and pumpkin arrangements outside multimillion-pound homes. Other families have built handcrafted installations, including a family that recreated a full Nightmare Before Christmas tableau for visitors.

Beyond residential decorations, towns and cities are hosting a wide range of events for families and adults. In...