Grinch makes early appearance, hacking Facebook site of popular Shore holiday lights house

The Gress House Holiday Light Spectacular in Union Beach, a longtime holiday staple of Monmouth County's Bayshore region, has been silenced on social media following a Facebook hack.

The illuminated display at the Gress home at 14 Johnson Ave. will be back this year. The Gress family, however, is unable to get the word out via social media.

“I am really struggling without having that page up and going," said Brandon Gress. "Usually now’s the time that we’re hyping people up, like, ‘Oh, we’re getting ready’ and ‘Make sure you check us out in December’ and all that stuff. And it’s unfortunate that we’re not able to do that.”

Gress' personal Facebook page, which he uses to operate the Gress House Holiday Light Spectacular page and publicize his annual display, was found to have been hacked, then deactivated, in September, as first reported by The Star-Ledger.

Attempts to verify and reactivate his account, including submitting his driver's license and passport to the social media juggernaut, have been unsuccessful. He's now been dealing with this for two weeks.

“I’m beyond frustrated with Facebook,” he said

Gress and his mother, Lori, have been decorating the family home for more than a decade. Preparations are already underway for this year's light show, which is typically turned on the weekend after Thanksgiving.

In recent years, the Gress House Holiday Light Spectacular has hosted the "Decorations for Donations" program to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network in Mountainside, raising thousands of dollars for the organization, Gress said.

In an interview with the Asbury Park Press in 2021, Gress said they rotate through their collection of light-up molds; last year it was heavy on snowmen. The home has been featured on ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight."

He has "always been obsessed with Christmas lights," he said in 2021.

"My family was so into going to look at everybody else's Christmas lights. I wanted to do that for other people," Gress said. "People drive by and see it, and they're excited. That's why I do it. We are now part of so many of their memories."

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Union Beach NJ: Christmas lights display silenced by Facebook hack