Swiftie Grandma Decorates Her Famed New Orleans House with 'Terror Swift' Skeletons for Halloween (Exclusive)

• Louellen Berger has always loved decorating her house for Halloween
• About 20 years ago, a New Orleans woman began decorating her front lawn with skeletons
• Over the years, Berger continued to expand her collection. Her house became known as Skeleton House NOLA, attracting thousands of visitors eager to see the decorations
• This year, she chose a Taylor Swift theme called “Terror Swift,” inspired by her 11 grandchildren, who are ages 3 to 12, and has since gone viral.

For the past 10 years in Louellen Berger’s garage on the corner of St. Charles and State Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, was not her car, but two dozen skeletons. She jokingly says that if someone broke in or jumped the fence, they would probably be scared.

The skeletons stay in the garage year round – except for Halloween. In late August, Berger, now in his 70s, digs out the skeletons and devotes two straight days to decorating the home he shares with his husband, Darryl, for the spooky holidays. She also hired a helper to help her set up and install electricity. This beloved tradition began more than 20 years ago when she noticed a fallen branch from an oak tree in her yard and decided to place a skeleton on it.

“I did it, and later that afternoon I looked at it and thought, ‘It looks a little lonely,’” Berger, who has a background in fashion and marketing, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “So I added three more, all in playful poses: one doing a backbend, another with a hula hoop, and a third in a cartwheel.”

“Eventually, our local paper named the skeleton in the tree ‘Lazy Bones,’ which inspired me to give the other skeletons funny names to match their poses,” she adds.

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Taylor Swift-themed skeletons representing different eras are on display at the NOLA Skeleton House.

Erika Goldring/Getty

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Over the years, Berger continued to expand her collection. Her house became known as Skeleton House NOLA, attracting thousands of visitors eager to see the decorations. Her son Ryan even created an Instagram account, @skeletonhousenola, to share photos of the exhibits with the wider community.

For fun, Berger develops different themes for her house and encourages community input by inviting people to leave suggestions in her mailbox. A few years ago, one suggestion she got was “Saturday Night Femur”. This year, she chose a Taylor Swift theme called “Terror Swift,” inspired by her 11 grandchildren, who range in age from 3 to 12, and has since gone viral.

Taylor Swift skeletons at the NOLA Skeleton House.

@skeletonhousenola

“A skeleton house eaten this year,” one TikTok user wrote on a video of the house they posted.

“All set up for my girl @Taylor Swift,” another person wrote in the TikTok video.

“Who’s Afraid? The new installation at NOLA’s Skeleton House did not disappoint! Just in time for the Eras tour next weekend!” someone else said on TikTok, noting the Eras Tour’s stop in the city from October 25-27.

A skeleton inspired by Travis Kelce at the NOLA Skeleton House.

Erika Goldring/Getty

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“When Taylor announced that New Orleans was added to her tour extension, we all went crazy,” says Berger. “I knew her name, but I had no idea my 2-year-old granddaughter knew the lyrics to most of her songs! It was surreal.”

“My 12-year-old granddaughter even sat down and drew her vision of what she thought Taylor should look like to represent each album,” adds Berger. “She gave me 10 sketches on one big sheet. When Taylor announced in February or March of last year that she was adding Tortured poets segment, my granddaughter, who doesn’t live in New Orleans, sent me the final sketch. I used that as my yardstick, my blueprint, my pattern to follow for all skeletons.”

Taylor Swift-themed skeletons representing different eras are on display at the NOLA Skeleton House.

Erika Goldring/Getty

Berger likes to work with her hands, so she made most of the skeleton costumes from old gymnastics sets or her children’s or family members’ clothes. The process of creating all the outfits took her about six weeks.

One skeleton outfit is a nod to Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, while another mimics Swift’s Reputation leotard from her Eras Tour. Additionally, there is a costume representing Swift red album, complete with signature 22 hat on top.

While her grandchildren are still a little too young to help with the finer details, this year she says they made friendship bracelets for the skeletons to wear.

“It was a lot of fun — I really enjoyed the whole process!” she says. “After all the research, my granddaughter told me to watch it Miss America together. We watched a documentary about Taylor Swift, and now I’m almost a Swiftie.”

“I know about 13 songs and all these expressions that ladies my age usually don’t know anything about,” she continues, adding that she is excited to attend the Eras Tour concert next week with her family.

Louellen & Darryl Berger welcome trick-or-treaters to 2023.

@skeletonhousenola

On Halloween night, Berger adds that he never gives out candy. Instead, she orders 4,000 light-up necklaces with a caricature of her house. Every year it usually runs out and has to lock the doors around 10pm. This year, she knew she had to prepare ahead of time, so she also ordered a large supply of friendship bracelets for Halloween, which only adds to the Swift theme.

“About five years ago, tour buses started stopping to drop off tourists, and around the same time, small vans from retirement homes and nursing homes started visiting,” she continues. “It always brings tears to my eyes. The ones who are mobile are limping out, and to see the joy on their faces when they look at the skeletons is just amazing to me.”

The skeletons are being prepared for storage at Skeleton House NOLA.

@skeletonhousenola

Berger recalls how she was always one of those who decorated her door and porch. For a while, she recalls how everyone thought she was a “crazy woman” living in New Orleans because of her passion for decorating.

“I’ve always loved Halloween,” she says. “I loved the freedom it gave us as kids. Our parents would stay at the door and hand out candy while my older sister and I ran off with a reminder to come back by 8 o’clock. We had the whole neighborhood to explore, and it was fantastic — I always was fun, and I’ve always been a fan of Halloween, even in those years when people weren’t interested in it. I still am!”

“While my mom brings back many skeletons year after year, she always likes to add new ones that reflect what’s current and fun,” her son Ryan tells PEOPLE. “Hardly anything is as topical and fun as Taylor Swift descending on New Orleans the weekend before Halloween, so suffice it to say she went all out with the skeleton display!”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education