B.C. woman born on Halloween dresses up giant skeleton in front yard all year long

Duncan, B.C. -

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.