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Home Depot Debuts App-Controlled Ultra Skelly, Kicking Off the Halloween Season

Their 12-foot Skelly is still $299, making it the Costco hot dog of Halloween decorations.
ByJake Rossen|
The 12-foot Skelly is still a Home Depot staple.
The 12-foot Skelly is still a Home Depot staple. | Courtesy of Home Depot

In the fall of 2020, consumers left homebound and restless during the coronavirus pandemic found some comfort in a 12-foot plastic skeleton. The $299 Halloween decoration, colloquially known as “Skelly,” became a viral sensation for Home Depot and the bane of homeowner’s associations everywhere. Five years later, its ardent fanbase waits for the company’s annual decoration drops the way sneakerheads sweat out the newest Air Jordans.

  1. Meet the Newest Member of the Skelly Family
  2. Home Depot’s Less-Famous Halloween Decor
  3. When Skelly Courts Controversy

Meet the Newest Member of the Skelly Family

The Home Depot Ultra Skelly is pictured
The Ultra Skelly in action. | Courtesy of Home Depot

This week, Home Depot announced the 2025 collection. While the 12-foot Skelly remains, it might be jockeying for position against Ultra Skelly ($279), an app-controlled version that permits its caretaker to oversee animatronic elements like a moving mouth. It can also be equipped with prerecorded dialogue, the better for tailoring spooky messages to trick-or-treaters. The only downside? It’s a mere 6.5 feet tall.

Home Depot’s Less-Famous Halloween Decor

The company is still flirting with the limits of towering decor. The 15-foot Worricrow, Home Depot’s take on a scarecrow, sports LED functions and an animated head. At $399, it’s one of their priciest offerings of the season.

The Home Depot WorriCrow is pictured
The Home Depot WorriCrow stands 15 feet tall. | Courtesy of Home Depot

The Worricrow is part of the Gruesome Grounds line, which also includes the 8-foot Tumble the Troll ($249) and Wyvern, or dragon ($399), which sports an 8-foot wingspan.

The Home Depot Wyvern is pictured
The Wyvern is Home Depot's in-house dragon. | Courtesy of Home Depot

The company is also expanding its licensed offerings, including animatronic versions of murderous dolls Chucky ($229) and Tiffany ($229) from the Child’s Play franchise. For Universal horror fans, a 6-foot tall Bride of Frankenstein ($279) offers servo-controlled movement and four phrases.

When Skelly Courts Controversy

Skelly rollouts can resemble early Beanie Baby mania, with enthusiasts calling stores to check for inventory. Once obtained, the decorations are often named (Jon Bone Jovi, Indiana Bones, etc.) and decorated. Home Depot is even offering customizing tips (“If there’s a graduate in your house, add a cap and gown”) as well as maintenance instructions (“Don’t pressure wash your skeleton”).

Not everyone is a fan. The skeletons tend to invite controversy when left up past Halloween, with homeowner’s associations growing annoyed and threatening fines. Skelly fans sometimes then leave them up year-round out of spite. One Houston-area homeowner told the Wall Street Journal in 2024 that a threatening HOA letter resulted in his Skelly celebrating the Fourth of July. Another collector in Charlotte told the Journal that he received letters from neighbors concerned that he was “inviting evil into our town” by displaying two Skellys.

Most Home Depot Halloween products will be available for purchase online beginning August 4. The in-store rollout is expected in the fall.

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