NO BONES ABOUT IT: Mississippi couple turns 12-foot skeleton into neighborhood icon
Published 5:32 am Saturday, October 29, 2022
In one Mississippi neighborhood, there is a sight so grotesque and surprising that it’s stirred up quite the polarized public opinion over the last year.
Owned by Vicksburg residents Rob and Teresa Barnett, the 12-foot Home Depot skeleton, Skelly, with his custom holiday wardrobe has been on display in their front yard for the last 12 months for a simple reason.
“We didn’t have anywhere to store it,” Teresa said.
While he was initially supposed to be a Halloween-only lawn ornament, the Barnetts decided to make the most of their lack of storage foresight and adorn the skeleton in seasonal attire. The only problem, though, is that one doesn’t simply go to Walmart and buy a Santa hat with a 44-inch circumference.
So, Teresa got to work.
“The Santa hat was actually a tree skirt,” she said. “I’ve spent way too many hours wandering around the store asking myself how I’m going to make things for him.”
During Mardi Gras, the Barnetts used a plastic mat and a heat gun to custom-fit a carnival mask for their looming lanky pal. During Easter, he had a pair of bunny ears atop his bony head and a rather sizable basket to gather the large eggs around his feet.
This year for Halloween, the Barnetts retrofitted a light-up jack-o-lantern to give the skeleton a pumpkin head, á la “Spooky Hollow.”
And, they said they have no plans to evict their calcified companion anytime soon.
“Every day, people stop. They’ll run out, try to get a picture with their kids, run in the yard,” Rob said. “We enjoy it and think it’s fun.”