Get ready to start your engines, Halloween lovers. Decoration season is about to begin and it’s looking bigger than ever.
As USA TODAY has previously explored, Halloween does, in fact, seem to be coming earlier every year. But, with 12-foot skeletons and murderous doll decor to look forward to, how can we blame the enthusiasts? Some of the best Halloween decorations can even be used year-round, as plenty of creative fans of the holiday have proven.
The sweltering mid-summer heat didn’t stop Home Depot from dropping its Halloween line on Wednesday, enticing fans with makeovers of old favorites and some tantalizing new tech.
Looking for the highlights of this year’s drop? After a first-hand preview of the reveal, we’ve got you covered.
Skelly gets a makeover
You know him, you love him and you’ll probably have to wait in line to get your hands on him.
Skelly, Home Depot’s official name for the 12-foot skeleton figurine that first went viral in 2020, is back for another season with new features for existing Skelly owners and first-time buyers alike.
Along with a new accessory kit that comes with a wig, jewelry, a bag and giant shoes that very much give Wednesday Adam vibes, Home Depot also has a new multi-setting eye kit and a new lighting kit for Skelly, as well as a new “scary” head to swap for a more sinister look.
The new kits are compatible with older Skelly models that don’t have some elements of newer models, like the multi-setting eyes, built in. You don’t have to buy a whole new Skelly to keep up with the latest in giant skeleton tech: one of these kits will do the trick.
Lance Allen, Home Depot’s senior merchant of decorative holiday, said the retailer wanted to enable existing Skelly owners to upgrade their setup without having to repurchase any products.
“We are really focused on affordability this year,” he said.
The 12-foot skeleton accessory kit retails only online for $49.98. The eye and lighting kits sell online and in stores for $29.98 and the Skelly “Scary Head” sells also exclusively online for $79.98.
The newest and limited edition model of Skelly with a rotating head, called “Servo Skelly,” sells exclusively online for $379. The original Skelly model is priced at $299.
….and a new pet
That’s not all that’s new in the life of Skelly. He’s also gotten himself a new pet. Skelly’s dog stands at 7 feet long and, like the newer Skelly models, comes with multiple eye settings.
You can bring home man’s – er, skeleton’s best friend, for $199.
More giant decor and headless horror
If there’s one thing Home Depot Halloween shoppers have shown they love time and time again, it’s some larger-than-life characters to spookify their front lawns.
That’s why Skelly isn’t the only 12-foot contender in this year’s lineup. A 12.5-foot giant-sized Inferno Deadwood Skeleton, a 13-foot giant-sized animated Jack Skellington and a 12-foot giant-sized Levitating Reaper are among other gargantuan additions to Home Depot’s Halloween.
The Levitating Reaper is especially ethereal, said Rachel Litte, senior product engineer for decorative holiday at The Home Depot, as it has an entirely hidden frame to keep the floating illusion intact.
The design team used similar techniques that street and “levitating” sideshow performers do, said Little, hiding the reaper’s supports in his massive scythe, making it appear he truly is floating.
Another character of intimidating size, the 8.5-foot animated Knight Dullahan, invokes the classic creepy image of a headless horseman. The scary skeleton comes complete with a skeleton horse and speaking severed head.
The Reaper sells for $299. Knight Dullahan sells for $379.
Familiar faces: Frankenstein and Chucky
If you have a fear of dolls or monsters, these new animatronics with advanced face articulation may just scare the wits out of you.
In partnership with the owners of their respective images, Home Depot brought to life classic horror characters this year with some chillingly realistic facial expressions and movements.
Chucky, the original evil doll from 1988’s “Child’s Play,” appears in this year’s collection as a 3.5-animated doll. Adorned with his classic overalls and wielding a knife, Chucky cycles through voice lines that were specifically written for the Home Depot decoration – as it turns out, the language in the original movie was a little too vulgar to play in stores.
Creepier yet, Chucky’s face not only features eyes that roll and move, but an uncanny smile that twists his realistic-looking face into a menacing grin.
He is accompanied by Frankenstein’s Monster, another unmissable horror icon. Like Chucky, the 7-foot LED-lit Frankenstein monster has a face crafted from what looks like real skin, with bulbous and wandering eyes that follow you around the room.
“We spent so much time working with Universal on this piece,” said Allen. “The scars replicate the piece from the classic movie, the stitches, the hair, the amount of detail we go through with these pieces is phenomenal.”
Chucky retails for $199, while Frankenstein sells for $279.00.
Tantalizing new tech
If you’ve noticed Halloween seemingly coming earlier each year, you’re not wrong. If you’ve noticed Halloween displays getting increasingly more complex and intense, you’d also be correct; just as the people who design the decor.
According to Little, “There’s been an appetite change for Halloween.”
“Like Skelly 2020, that showed how big the appetite was for Halloween and with that bigger appetite from customers we’re able to be more innovative with our customers, as well,” she said.
An example of this innovation is a much scarier version of Home Depot’s several cute canine companions. The 5.5-foot animated LED Fear Valley Wolf is more creepy than cute, sporting sharp teeth, piercing yellow eyes and patches of missing fur that expose some gore underneath.
The most impressive part? The dogs are animated to growl and snarl at passersby, an action that Allen said is not currently seen on the market in other canine decorations.
The figure curls its lips back to bare its teeth, a motion that the design team studied in videos of real dogs to get it just right, added Little.
Likewise, another new arrival, the 7-foot animated LED Plague Doctor, employs technology that would have only been seen at haunts and theme parks a mere five years ago, said Allen. The animatronic features multiple twisting motions that move different parts of the body simultaneously, accompanied by some chilling voice lines, color-changing lines and a bit of a spring-loaded jump scare.
“We get very smart with how we do some of the design,” Little said.
Using practical designs, like motors that are able to perform two functions in one, allows the chain to keep even newer, more advanced technology relatively affordable for the consumer.
Both the Fear Valley Wolf and Plague Doctor sell for $199.
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