11-Year-Old Boy Recreates Eras Tour Outfit for Halloween Costume and Wheelchair (Exclusive)

Henry Hinson's mom Erin tells PEOPLE that he's wanted to be an Eras tour dancer for Halloween since last October

Erin Raley Hinson/Instagram

It’s been a long time coming.

Henry Hinson has known what he wanted to be for Halloween 2024 for over a year. His mom Erin tells PEOPLE that since last fall, her now-11-year-old — a huge Taylor Swift fan — has been set on just one costume since he saw The Eras Tour film in theaters early last October.

“He saw the opening, he saw Kam and Jan and some of the dancers come out, and they had, you know, the big fans,” Erin, 39, says, referencing the iconic pink and orange outfits Eras Tour dancers like Kam Saunders and Jan Ravnik wear during the film’s and concert’s first moments. “And he went nuts in the theater. And when we were walking out, he said, ‘Mom that’s what I’m going to be for next Halloween.’ And I was like, ‘Son, it’s not even really Halloween yet for this year, we’re already planning for next year?’ And he has never, ever wavered that this is what I’m going to be for Halloween.”

Erin Raley Hinson/Instagram

So this year, Erin got to work, using pool noodles and fabric for the fan, which Henry was able to flip back and forth all night. For his outfit, she used a pink hazmat suit that she spray-painted to match the tour costumes.

Henry, Erin shares, uses a wheelchair because he was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth and is paralyzed from the waist down.

“When he was a baby, I always had this fear that Halloween was going to be the one holiday that excluded him because he can’t walk up to doors and trick or treat,” she remembers. But when he was 3 or 4 years old, Erin’s family became connected to Kosair, a charity in Louisville that helps children with medical complexities. Kosair also has an annual event at the Louisville Zoo during which one night of the Boo at the Zoo event is reserved to make it accessible for children with sensory issues or mobility needs.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

“Since he has started going to this event every year, his Halloween costumes have gotten more and more elaborate,” Erin explains. Those costumes have included a UPS truck, a fire truck, an ice cream truck and a Supreme Court justice ensemble — complete with his own judge’s bench. His older brother Oliver, 13, has also accompanied his sibling to the event in his own splashy costumes.

For this year’s Boo at the Zoo, Erin put a Bluetooth speaker in Henry’s wheelchair’s cupholder that played the musical mashup from the beginning of The Eras Tour. “A lot of sororities were volunteering that night to hand out candy, and every time he rounded a corner they were like, ‘Oh my gosh!' " the proud mom says.

Erin Raley Hinson/Instagram

When Erin posted a video of Henry in his costume on TikTok, it quickly gained more than 2 million views. She wrote in the caption, “Since seeing the #erastour movie Henry has said he wanted to be #kamsaunders for halloween. Here’s hoping we did it justice! Happy #Halloween fellow #swifties!” Eras dancer Ravnik even commented, writing, “Love it!!!!!”

“He's just an incredible kid,” Erin says of her son. “He has every right to be upset or bitter about the life he's been handed. He's 11. He's had 21 major surgeries related to spina bifida. He’s been in and out of the hospital for his entire life. The situations that Henry deals with are far and away more than most of us will deal with in a lifetime. But yet, how you see him in that video is how he is. He is the most joyful kid.”

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And one of the things that helps him manage his hospital stays and procedures, Erin says, is Swift’s music.

“When he's getting ready to go into an MRI that's going to be two hours long, he has noise-canceling headphones and the Eras movie on, or 1989, which is his favorite album," she says. She jokes that her family has “far and away” earned their Disney+ subscription with how often Henry has watched Swift’s concert film.

Erin Raley Hinson/Instagram

“I think she will never understand the impact that she has had on this little life, because she brings him a whole lot of peace in moments that are not peaceful,” Erin adds of the singer.

Henry has not seen The Eras Tour in person because of the difficulty of getting accessible access, Erin says. For the same reason, he’s yet to see his favorite football team — coincidentally Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs — at their Missouri stadium either. (However, hours after PEOPLE spoke to Erin, she shared the exciting news that he'll be attending an Eras Tour concert in Indianapolis this fall thanks to the attention around his costume.)

Erin Raley Hinson/Instagram

Erin is thrilled about the positive reception Henry’s costume has received online, calling it a “huge confidence boost” for him. And she’s glad to show others that “this is what disability looks like. It looks like figuring it out, day to day, to make sure that my kid just lives the best life he can live.”

Erin and Henry are also happy that her post has caused some people to look for ways they can make trick-or-treating more accessible, including moving their candy-giving to the driveway, which is what many in her community do. And this Oct. 31, Henry will be there celebrating, dressed in his Eras Tour homage.