A creepy window decal spelling out “Help Me” in what looked like blood left a West Fargo man thoroughly spooked.
A North Dakota family’s Halloween decoration was more than just spooky, as one frightened neighbor called 911 after mistaking the adornment for a grisly cry for help.
Becky Muhs has long loved Halloween. She and her husband were married on the holiday, and her birthday is only two days earlier, adding to her affection for the season.
So the West Fargo woman couldn’t wait to put up her decorations over the weekend, starting with a creepy window decal spelling out “Help Me” in what looked like blood. After hanging the decal, plus two other decorations, Muhs and her family went out to eat.
“We were out to dinner with my husband’s family for his 40th birthday,” she said. “I only had up the bloody main window, eyes and [a] sign when we went to dinner.”
It was while they were out to dinner that the Muhs’ neighbor, WDAY Radio host Jay Thomas, saw the sign.
"I was out in the garage doing some work, and next thing you know it's dark out and I look down the driveway and see the sign in the window, a window where the neighbors never have the blinds open and think to myself, ‘What the hell is going on?’” Thomas said. "There were no other decorations up, just that sign."
He tried to ignore the sign, but when he noticed the Muhs’ dogs did not bark at passersby, Thomas became frightened. He tried getting in touch with Becky Muh, but got no response.
“I’m thinking, 'I should call 911,' so I do, and I explain to them what was going on and they said they had other calls on it and that law enforcement was on the way," he said.
But there was no emergency, and Thomas quickly learned he had made a notable — albeit a comical — error.
“I checked my phone … [Thomas] said, 'Stop over when you get home, you are going to love this story,’” Muh said.
"Twenty minutes later, we were home and in his driveway … when he got to, 'I called 911,' I fell to the ground laughing ... It took about 15 minutes for me to compose myself. He never saw the other window [decoration] or the flattened pumpkin on the ground."
Muh called the West Fargo Police to apologize for “the ruckus,” but she said she still laughs when she thinks about Thomas.
He too said he’s found the humor in it all.
“She was laughing her a** off, and so was I,” Thomas said. “She was glad to know that someone in the neighborhood was looking out for her family … This at the end of the day is funny, but hey, things just didn’t look right that night."
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