Every October, my wife and I have put up a Halloween display in our front lawn in Bridgewater, NJ. This display used to consist of standard elements, like pumpkins, hay bales, and corn stalks. Then in 2005, I wanted to make my display more creative. I came up with a way to stack seven pumpkins, giving the illusion that they were supernaturally balancing on top of each other. I really liked how it came out, so my next idea was to do this balancing act with skeletons.
I stacked two skeletons the first day, then I added another the next day. The day after that, I positioned a few more skeletons, posing them as if they were reacting to the sight of this amazing balancing feat.
Sometime after, a parent said to me, “You know, my kids think your skeletons are alive! Every day, when they drive by in the school bus, they see that the skeletons have moved!”
So naturally, I continued to move them around the yard for the rest of the month. But, that got me thinking. What if the skeletons had a tale to tell? The following year, I created a story for the skeletons to act out, and I have invented a new story for them to tell every year since then.
In 2019 we published our first children's book based on the 13 Skeletons called Circus of the Night. We hope to continue this community tradition of bring 13 Skeletons alive during each October and publish more of their stories in the years to come.
Displayed in our yard,
in October each year,
Thirteen skeletons
would always appear.
They'd rise from the ground
and would play through the night,
Then freeze in their places
at dawn's first light.
Each night I would wonder
if it was a dream,
But every morning
there was a new scene.
For under the moonlight
beside our oak tree,
Their balancing acts
were amazing to see.
With each book we write,
we will bring you their story:
You'll see 13 Skeletons
in all their glory!
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