B.C. woman born on Halloween dresses up giant skeleton in front yard all year long
When Tabi Henry was little, she never questioned why everyone celebrated her birthday in costume.
“I thought it was a big party put on for me,” Tabi smiles.
Until she realized that Oct. 31 was also Halloween.
Ever since, Tabi and her family have felt fondness for the freaky.
“We’re just weird like that,” she says.
Ghoulish garden gnomes that decorate their living room year round, and Tabi has a celebration of spooky cinema tattooed on her arm.
“That’s the ‘Psycho’ house,” Tabi says, pointing the haunted-looking mansion inked on her shoulder.
Then there’s the 12-foot-tall skeleton that Tabi got a couple months before this past Halloween.
“Once you take it out of the box, it doesn’t go back in. And it’s a pain to store,” Tabi says. “So the easiest thing to do is put it in the yard.”
So her husband made a large countdown to Halloween sign for the skeleton to hold, which Tabi adjusted daily.
It remained in the front yard throughout October, before becoming part of Tabi’s elaborate Halloween display.
And then came November.
“We took the Halloween stuff down,” Tabi says, before laughing. “Because it’s tacky leaving it up.”
But the giant skeleton stayed. Because where else would it go, and who else would be tall enough to hang the Christmas lights?
Tabi’s husband made a giant Santa hat for the skeleton to wear and adjusted its arms so it looked like it was attaching the string of lights along the roofline.
They also erected a pair of smaller skeletons and dressed them as elves.
“The skeleton would look weird in the yard naked, so you have to put clothes on the skeleton,” Tabi smiles. “And to justify leaving him up all year.”
The giant skeleton — who’s affectionately know as Skelly — dons something different every month. He wore a pair of bunny ears to host an Easter egg hunt for the neighbourhood, before dressing in overalls and carrying flowers to get the garden going for spring.
Tabi says Skelly also put a spring in the steps of people passing by.
“Just knowing that they’ve got a smile on their face is great,” she says.
Now, Skelly is celebrating the end of the school year, wearing a cap and gown to get the diploma he’s holding in his giant, boney hand. He’s joined by that pair of smaller skeletons, who are dressed in their best (including corsages and boutonnieres) for the prom.
The trio of skeletons are ready to graduate on to whatever spooky positivity Tabi has planned for next month.
“You know, people are still having a hard time,” Tabi says. “So if they can drive by or bring their kids and feel good, it totally justifies me leaving them up,”
Because the only thing better than celebrating your birthday on Halloween is giving a gift to others all year round. There’s no bones about it.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.