10 Times Wind Chimes Turned Neighbors Into Enemies
Updated: Feb. 17, 2023
From stealing to destroying, these not-so-neighborly stories will make you think twice before getting wind chimes!
Save the Skunks
When one person asked their neighbor what was up with the seven wind chimes in their yard, the response was more than shocking!
“My next door neighbor has 7 wind chimes in his backyard. Yes, 7, with different sizes and colors,” says a Reddit user. “I don’t need to tell you how those chimes are annoying. Especially when our bedroom windows faces their backyard. I first dropped a note in their mailbox, anonymously, asking nicely about removing those chimes.
“Their reason for the chimes: To scare away the skunks (!?) When asked why didn’t they use repellent, the wife said she didn’t want to hurt the skunks. They obviously love the skunks more than their human neighbors.”
Despite talking to the couple three times, weeks apart, the chimes remained. Keep your neighbors on your good side by avoiding these bad habits.
A Bloody Wind Chime Emergency
Another Reddit user commented on a wind chime fight that lasted years! It got so bad, it almost ended in murder!
“I’m a 911 dispatcher. I used to work in a shore town, where all the houses were right on top of each other. I dealt with neighbors for years who fought over wind chimes. He hated them. She kept them because they were the last thing her husband gave her before he died. Year after year, I dealt with the arguments between these two.
“So one day, he called. I said, “let me guess. You’re complaining about your neighbor’s wind chimes making noise?” He said “they’re not making noise anymore. I went over with scissors to cut them, and she tried to stop me. So I stabbed her in the chest with the scissors. You should probably send an ambulance.”
Twenty-Four Too Many
“It makes me laugh when people complain about their neighbor’s wind chime, singular. What I would give for my neighbor to have only one wind chime,” says Bart Tocci. “She has TWENTY-FOUR WIND CHIMES HANGING UP ON HER DECK! TWENTY FOUR!”
Tocci was so fed up with the wind chimes he took action. “Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire, so I bought a huge country bell, the size of a watermelon, and I burned all of her wind chimes.” Here are 15 things your neighbors want you to stop doing.
A Passive-Aggressive Note
When Christine Walczak hung wind chimes outside her home in honor of her late mother, trouble ensued. One neighbor taped a note to the tree asking her to take them down. Walczak responded not by taking the chimes down, but by replying on the same note with, “Come talk to me in person.”
Her response only riled up other neighbors who were upset anyone had an issue with the wind chimes in the first place. “Soon flyers popped up all over the tree condemning Walczak’s opponents, mourning the death of neighborly courtesy, and praising the wind chime’s melodic, warbling tune,” reports Drew Schwartz for Vice.
The wind chimes still hang from the tree. Take a look at these 14 things your neighbors will never tell you.
Wind Chime Lawsuit
Some people get so fed up with their neighbors wind chimes they actually take them to court! Such was the case back in 2014 when three East Hollywood residents sued a neighbor who they say had installed large wind chimes that kept them awake at night.
Robin Shorr and Tim and Laura Wild sued Michelle Buhler for installing two sets of cathedral-sized chimes outside her home. The lawsuit noted that, because the homes in the area were close together and located on a hillside, the sound of the chimes was disturbingly amplified.
“Buhler either ignores them completely or takes the chimes down temporarily only to install them a short time later,” the suit alleged.
No word on what ended up happening, but let’s hope no blood was shed!
It’s Raining Chimes
One Reddit user was so unhappy with their friend’s wind chime they ended up destroying it! Let’s hope there was no bad blood between them in the morning.
“I was staying at a friend’s house one night. Starts pouring rain with heavy winds. As I’m falling asleep, I realize there is a huge wind chime outside my window. Go outside in the storm, spend several minutes taking apart the stupid thing so it doesn’t make anymore noise. Leave it out there in pieces to think about its life choices, go back inside, sleep like a rock.”
Filled with Foam
Another Reddit user pointed out on the same thread involving skunks that someone sprayed expanding foam into each tube of their neighbor’s chimes when they were out of town. “I’m no expert, but I believe it was the kind of foam designed to fix insulation leaks.”
Here are 10 ordinances to know when you have a nuisance neighbor.
And, here are 15 non-vindictive ways to use expanding foam insulation.
A Big Fat Fine
In a suburban neighborhood in the U.K., a set of wind chimes stirred up some trouble. The wind chimes, situated on a clothes line in the back garden of a home had a next-door neighbor up in arms. The four five-inch tubes of aluminum kept him up all night.
“Gordon put the wind chime up around nine months ago to spite us after we had a falling out over an extension he built on his roof. The chimes sound very innocent at first but when you have the tinkle, tinkle, jingle jangle going on all day and all night it becomes a nightmare,” said the neighbor, who did not wish to be named.
“When two men from the council turned up and I showed them the wind chimes I could tell they were trying to stop themselves giggling over how ridiculous it all was,” said Gordon Littlechild, owner of the wind chimes.
A spokesman for Waltham Forest Council noted that “the chimes do breach appropriate noise levels.”
At the time, Littlechild was facing a fine of up to £5,000 if he refused to remove them.
All Stuffed Up
Back in 2009, Nancie Saphara and her husband William were very annoyed with their neighbors’ wind chimes keeping them up at night. “I sleep with a pillow over my head, of course my husband doesn’t,” said Nancie. “He tried regular ear plugs, then he switched to wax ear plugs, and we’ve taken Tylenol P.M.”
The neighbors were reported to have about 20 wind chimes, hanging from trees, gutters and even a few in the garage.
The wind-chime-loving neighbors, Maurice and Robert Walawender said the noise was barely noticeable, and refused to take down the wind chimes. The Sapharas response was not too kind.
“They did take it upon themselves to come over here, take our wind chimes down, tape them together, stuffed the tubes with cotton, and put them in a box in their garage,” said Maurice.
There’s no word on the outcome of this dispute. Here’s how to eliminate 23 annoying house noises.
Caught Red-Handed
Is getting arrested over wind chimes worth it? A woman awoke at about 2:15 a.m. claiming a man was on the third-floor roof trying to steal her wind chimes on her second-floor deck. The woman was able to grab the wind chimes from the intoxicated man before the police arrived. The man was handcuffed and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct. Check out these 10 things you should never, ever leave outside.
