ENDWELL, N.Y. — Boris the skeleton, named by the New York couple who host him on their lawn, has attracted a worldwide fanbase with his variety of costumes and decorations throughout the year.
Beyond bringing smiles, Boris also provides further cont-rib-utions to the community; the display also helps the couple collect a skele-ton of donations for local charities.
Scott Varcadipane and his fiancée, Samantha Dalla-Verde, sell Boris T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items to raise money for local charities including the Alzheimer’s Association; Mercy House, which provides a home for terminally ill people; and Willow’s Wings, an animal sanctuary based in the town of Maine. The couple has raised nearly $16,000 so far this year, they said.
Boris’ origin story began last year: in January 2020, Varcadipane, an electrician, was working in the ceiling at Johnson City Middle School when he was involved in a serious accident. Fortunately, one of the coaches at a basketball game at the school, Ed Gee, heard his screams for help, ran to his aid and kicked the ladder away. That disconnected the live wire and saved Varcadipane’s life.
Since then, Varcadipane has undergone nine surgeries as he continues to recover from the accident. Dalla-Verde decided to buy him a 12-foot skeleton for Halloween 2020 and put it out in front of their home in Endwell. Then the couple, who loves decorating for holidays, decided to put Boris back out in December dressed as the Grinch.
The day after Christmas, the couple received an anonymous letter in the mail, claiming Boris ruined Christmas for one of their neighbors. That’s when the couple decided to keep him up year-round with a sign that read: “Dear Karen. My name is Boris. I love all holidays now.â€
They began to dress Boris up in different outfits each month and put up funny signs.
“Dear Karen,†read the Valentine’s Day sign. “I know you don’t like me but will you be my valentine?â€
Boris’s popularity grew. People began stopping by to take pictures of Boris or to pose with him.
“People reroute going to work just to pass him and see if he’s changed his costume,†Varcadipane said.
The couple also started social media pages for Boris on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Boris has fans from as far away as Mexico, Spain and Italy.
“People from all over the world are following his social media pages,†Dalla-Verde said. “He cheers everybody up.â€
The couple’s mailbox overflows with old-fashioned letters and cards addressed to Boris the skeleton.
“Boris gets more mail than we do,†Varcadipane said.
In addition to having fun with dressing the skeleton up and putting up the signs, the couple decided to use Boris to help others. They began selling Boris T-shirts, bumper stickers and other items and donated all proceeds to a different charity each month. Boris’ many fans help by buying the items.
“I’m thankful I got a second chance at life,†Varcadipane said. “This is how I am giving back to the community.â€
The couple picks charities that are meaningful to them. For example, they have family members with Alzheimer’s disease and brain cancer, and held fundraisers to benefit those causes. Â
“We’re really trying to keep everything local and help our area as much as we can,†Dalla-Verde said.
Some of the fundraisers benefited Horace Mann School, where Gee works as a physical-education teacher.
“We are forever grateful for that coach being aware of what to do and saving his life,†Dalla-Verde said of Varcadipane.
Added her fiancé, “We wanted to give back to the school and to him.â€
