With over 150,000 followers, Skellie the skeleton is a true Instagram celebrity.
Credit: Skellie Instagram
Her account, aptly titled ‘@omgliterallydead’, chronicles her daily activities like hanging out at Starbucks, brunches with her BFFs, makeup-free selfies, visits to the dentist, chilling in the bath, or just staying home to enjoy a Netflix binge.
The whole concept apparently started as a joke between a few co-workers at a Toronto-based social media marketing company. “In early October, a pose-able, plastic skeleton arrived at our office,” said social media manager Dana Herlihy. “My coworkers took to it; someone taped a Starbucks cup to the skeleton’s hand and I took a photo for my personal Instagram.” When that photograph went viral, Dana decided to take a few more, and before she knew it Skellie had her own account.
“I continued taking photos of the skeleton and then, on a whim, thought it would be funny for the office skeleton to have its own account,” she said. “I realized there was some interesting potential for contemporary satire, so I ran with it, and it has kind of snowballed since.”
Skellie’s silly and amusing pictures have become a sweet escape for many people looking for a bit of fun online. As new photos are added every day, it’s easy to forget that she’s just a fake skeleton and not a real person.
But the photographs are more than just funny. Dana uses them to take a dig at ‘basic’ women, a term that refers to people who are into everything mainstream – pretty much the opposite of being a hipster. Dana has photographed Skellie doing some pretty ‘basic’ stuff like bragging about bottomless sushi, listening to mainstream music, watching Netflix marathons, and even meeting Santa. She even did a pose similar to Kim Kardashian’s on the cover of Paper magazine that subsequently broke the internet. Interestingly, her Instagram username stems from the gross overuse and misuse of the word ‘literally’.
Reports suggest that while some people have become huge fans of Skellie, others are repulsed by the idea. “Some people love it, laugh, ask to take a photo, or make a witty pun as they pass by,” said Dana, who has experienced all sorts of reactions as she lugs Skellie around with her for possible photo-shoot locations. “Others will pretend there is no skeleton sitting beside me or give me frequent disapproving glances.”
Still, the whole angle of satire that Skellie represents has become so popular that Dana has started an online shop on Society6 where she sells Skellie-themed merchandise – mugs, iPhone cases, T-shirts, framed art prints and more.
Online magazine Vocativ recently did an interview with Skellie. She stated that her beauty motto is to “dress like every outfit is an #OOTD and always keep your eyebrows on fleek.” She also suggested that a “juice cleanse is the BEST way to detox, and if you don’t have a juicer, then you can just buy a bunch of orange juice from the corner store and start there.”
When asked about what it’s like to ‘literally die’, she replied: “Do I seem dead to you? I’m living life to the fullest, bae! You should too!”