The skeletons of Scripps Ranch
By Alex Piscatelli
It’s the spooky season in Scripps Ranch!
Some may have seen two skeletons on Rock Creek Drive that dress up differently each day in October leading up to Halloween. Shannon Walsh and her family created the dapper skeletons that go by the names Jeff and Belinda to bring a smile to the community.
“Laughter is medicine,” according to Jeff and Belinda’s Instagram page.
The tradition began in 2018 with the skeleton named Jeff. Walsh was putting up decorations for Halloween when her youngest son grabbed the skeleton and put it on his bike.
“All of a sudden, one of us put a helmet on it and a wig,” Walsh said. “The next day, it was like, ‘Oh, let’s change it.’”
The family then dressed Jeff up as everything from Braveheart to a paddleboarder.
“(Once) he got into a skateboarding accident on a skateboard ramp, and he fell apart into pieces,” Walsh said. “He was put back together in a wheelchair and popping a wheelie.”
She said Jeff was a loner, so he needed a skeleton friend.
“At the end of the first year, we introduced Belinda – and they went to some kind of formal dance,” Walsh said.
She said her neighbors looked forward to seeing
what the skeletons were up to each day. Then Jeff and Belinda started to get more attention from the community.
“People started saying they’re coming over, or they would send pictures to their kids in college,” Walsh said. “Or they would tell their friends and then they would start driving to the neighborhood.”
Her favorite Jeff and Belinda moment was when they dressed up for Scripps Ranch High School’s homecoming game. The two skeletons dressed in a football jersey and cheerleading uniform.
“We turned the car around and put headlights on (the skeletons) so it would be like Friday night lights,” Walsh said. “It was fun for the community. I think that’s really when people started laughing.”
Walsh originally got the skeletons at CVS Pharmacy.
“I’m really bummed because they just changed the type of skeleton that they sell. So, if these guys break … then all of a sudden, they’re going to have beady eyes in one of them, but we’re hoping we can milk them the rest of the season,” Walsh said.
Yes, there have been multiple Jeff and Belindas.
“But nobody knows,” Walsh said.
Who was the genius behind the names Jeff and Belinda?
“The kids. We just let them choose. They name the Christmas tree every year, so it was natural for them to name the skeletons,” Walsh said.
