![\"Fright](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e163f0f33b5321a87bc87f7cb27981838db9b2c5e560b481cc22029315c10b86.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nFright night at Sarah Naylor-Liddell\u2019s place brings a crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You could say the mother-of-four is mildly obsessed with Halloween.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fright night at Sarah Naylor-Liddell\u2019s place brings a crowd.\u00a0A Current Affair<\/p>\n
Each year, she takes the month of October off work to prepare her house in Sydney\u2019s south-west for a ghoulish display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Affectionately dubbed the Spider House, every inch of her front yard is a spook\u2019s delight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess I never anticipated it to be as big as it has gone to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had, you know, hundreds of people come by, then thousands.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I have to have enough candy for at least 5000 people on Halloween.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, the mum\u2019s imagination has run wild.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted all the big things, I like having big things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, you know what, I need to go bigger, I need to do something more, better.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat can we do? Can we open up our house?\u201d<\/p>\n
For six nights each October, Naylor-Liddell opens it up to the public free of charge just to share the love of the spooky season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now the local council has played the role of grim reaper perfectly, telling Naylor-Liddell this year\u2019s haunted house will be her last.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe received a phone call that obviously the council has known about what we do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/7148ef6031c04fa4e573f9dc6f8d4ba3f6083f2d691d711df7b7344869130bbd.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
In just 24 hours, Naylor-Liddell has been inundated by support on social media.\u00a0A Current Affair<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took one person, one complaint.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd of all these years, one person has complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naylor-Liddell took to social media to share the heartbreaking news with her loyal fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt literally breaks my heart so much,\u201d she said in a video she posted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told that even if I applied for a permit, that it’s going to get rejected.\u201d<\/p>\n
In just 24 hours, Naylor-Liddell has been inundated by support on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely disgusting! This is going to break so many kids\u2019 hearts,\u201d one resident said.<\/p>\n
![\"For](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/93506ae8b4b289d0f1a109de4ce597a82d1760832f9fad12d39757d45b60897a.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
For six nights each October, Naylor-Liddell opens it up to the public free of charge just to share the love of the spooky season. \u00a0A Current Affair<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like a Halloween Grinch to me! God forbid someone do something nice and celebrate spooky season,\u201d another local said.<\/p>\n
Others described the move as \u201cun-Australian\u201d and urged the local council to \u201cgo fix the potholes instead, you party poopers, think of the kids\u201d.<\/p>\n
Laksmhi lives next door and has no complaints about the house<\/p>\n
\u201cWe loved it, it\u2019s happening every year, this past few years, and we always go and support them,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
Naylor-Liddell said she was not sure who complained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy to lend them some of my stuff if they want to like to decorate their house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This weekend’s spook fest for Halloween will go ahead at the Spider House.<\/p>\n
Naylor-Liddell is just hoping they can find a solution for next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’t want people to be charged for something like this, I don’t want it to become a money-making thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know we have enough of that everywhere in the world, in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Statement from Camden Council<\/p>\n
Council welcomes opportunities for the community to come together and enjoy local events, provided they are organised safely, responsibly and in line with the relevant requirements.When activities grow to a scale that has the potential to affect public spaces and surrounding residents, it\u2019s important that the appropriate approvals and requirements are in place. <\/p>\n
These processes help ensure the activities are safe, well-managed and considerate of the wider community, including matters such as traffic and pedestrian safety, noise and amenity impacts, food vendors, security and impacts on neighbours. <\/p>\n
Council has received complaints from surrounding residents about the activity, including concerns relating to community safety and road and traffic safety.Council\u2019s role is to apply these requirements fairly and proportionately, while working with organisers wherever possible to help them understand their responsibilities and navigate the process. <\/p>\n
These requirements apply to everyone and are in place to help protect the safety of participants, residents and the wider community.While this instance may appear similar to other seasonal displays, there are important differences in how activities are operated and the impacts they may have. <\/p>\n
For example, running organised tours can trigger planning requirements, including the need for both owners and development consent (DA). <\/p>\n
The relevant requirements depend on the nature and scale of the activity and its potential impacts. <\/p>\n
This matter is not about Halloween decorations versus other decorations \u2013 it relates to the organised tours associated with the activity and the need to ensure everything meets the appropriate planning, safety and approval requirements.In this instance, the activity has been operating without the appropriate checks and approvals being in place. <\/p>\n
Council has advised the family that the display is not being stopped from proceeding this coming weekend. <\/p>\n
However, if the family wishes to run the activity in future years, they will need to contact Council to discuss the appropriate approval pathway and work through any necessary checks and approvals before proceeding.Council is happy to work with residents and community organisers to help them understand the requirements and deliver fun, safe activities across Camden. <\/p>\n
Residents planning future displays or activities are encouraged to contact Council early to discuss their plans and determine whether any approvals are required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fright night at Sarah Naylor-Liddell\u2019s place brings a crowd.\u00a0 You could say the mother-of-four is mildly obsessed with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,85],"class_list":["post-944006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}