Vancouver Island woman adorns home with hundreds of skeletons year round

Despite being bejewelled with all sorts of sparkling bones, Monica is not about to celebrate Halloween early.

“I’m the easiest person to buy for,” Monica smiles, gesturing to her shirt with a large sequined skull on it. “Get something with a skeleton in it. It’s my favourite thing!”

The seemingly ghoulish gallery of jewelry Monica’s wearing, including a skull necklace, skull earrings, and skull rings on every finger, is actually a showcase of heartfelt birthday, Valentine's Day and anniversary gifts.

“Skulls are the easiest Christmas present ever!” Monica laughs.

Monica says her appreciation for skulls began when he was around 13 years old.

“I really enjoyed looking at motorcycles with skulls on them,” Monica smiles.

When she grew up, Monica bought a couple bone-covered bikes before moving on to a motorhome that she’s accessorized with skeletons.

Monica has also decorated her home with all sorts of skulls all year round.

“These are the ones I like to cuddle with,” she says, plumping up skull-covered cushions on her couch.

Monica says there are more than 275 decorative skulls featured in her home, including skull paintings on the wall, skeletal salt-and-pepper shakers on the dining room table, skull-adorned coffee cups in the kitchen, and a coffin-shaped skeleton clock in the living room.

“This is actually my favourite,” Monica says touching an intricately designed Day of the Dead skull, before pointing out a display that features a glowing skull on a metal serving tray. “It’s the proverbial head on a silver platter.”

“And this is Bernie,” Monica gestures to a full-length, plastic skeleton sitting on a dining room chair. “You know the guy from Weekend at Bernie’s?”

And if you don’t know, Weekend at Bernie’s is a 1989 comedy about two guys pretending a corpse is actually alive.

“Bernie’s a bit thin now,” Monica laughs. “Which is why he sits at the dining room table. He’s a bit hungry.”

That brings us to Bernie’s boney belle. She’s another full-length skeleton that sits in Monica’s car. Her name is Bernice.

“She sat in the back seat for a while,” Monica says. “And then I thought, ‘No. I’ll pull her up to the front.’”

Bernice now rides in Monica’s passenger seat daily. Although her precarious posture inspired a recent name change.

After being told that Bernice was always leaning sideways in the seat, Monica changed the skeleton’s name to Eileen.

After decades of decorating with the dead, Monica says her skeletons have inspired the way she connects with the living.

“I really like skulls,” Monica explains by pointing to her skin. “Because beneath all this we are just the same.”

Ultimately we all look like Bernie and Eileen, Monica says. “So be kind to everyone.”

In a world filled with prejudice and intolerance, Monica says she’s focusing on our skeletal similarity to celebrate our common humanity.

“If [skeletons] bring a smile to me, I hope it brings a smile to [others],” Monica says. “It’s just about making the world a nice place.”

There’s no bones about it.