Halloween decor drop: Home Depot's 12-foot skeleton, 7-foot Skelly dog go on sale soon

It's no trick, Home Depot will again have Skelly, its 12-foot-tall animatronic skeleton available for Halloween shopping this season. And a few giant friends, too.

The coveted – and colossal – skeleton, which has moving, blinking eyes, has been a Halloween hit since the home improvement giant first made it available in 2020. Skelly, which costs $299, typically sells out just as it did earlier this year during Home Depot's "Halfway to Halloween" event in April.

Skelly will be available again when this year's line of Halloween products drops on Thursday, July 18, the retailer told USA TODAY.

Home Depot hinted at the July 18 arrival of Halloween products on Instagram recently.

Here's what you need to know about how to turn your neighbors' heads this spooky season.

Home Depot: Skelly gets a 7-foot-tall Halloween companion

Home Depot debuted some new, big Halloween animatronic decorations during its Halfway to Halloween event, including a 7-foot Skelly dog ($199), to serve as a companion to the 12-foot-tall Skelly.

Other Halfway to Halloween offerings likely available July 18:

• A three-pack of 5-foot LED Ultra Pose-n-Stay Skeletons ($119).
• 7-foot animated LED Frankenstein’s Monster (Inspired by Universal’s Classic Monster; $279).
• A 12.5-foot Giant-Sized Inferno Deadwood Skeleton ($379).

Since Skelly began haunting Home Depot's Halloween lineup in 2020, the retailer has expanded its product line due to consumer demand.

Skelly went viral, thanks in part to an October 2021 post from Kourtney Kardashian showing a pair of the giant skeletons on display.

“Our superfans are the heart and soul of our Halloween program," Lance Allen, Home Depot's senior merchant of decorative holiday, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "They inspire us to continually innovate and bring new designs to stores and online year after year."

Currently available on on HomeDepot.com are several animatronic decorations, all 5 feet or taller: scary butler ($209), talking clown ($199), a trio of witches ($129), a ghostly bride ($99.99), moaning skeleton ($89.98), zombie with a chain saw ($69.99), scarecrow ($69.98), individual witches ($59.99-up), and grim reaper ($59.98).

Halloween: We like to spend and to plan ahead

Halloween is a hallowed holiday for many Americans, with consumers setting spending records each of the last three years – $12.2 billion in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation.

Nearly all Americans (97%) say they plan to buy something to celebrate Halloween – that's more than any other holiday, according to research firm Numerator, which surveyed more than 5,100 U.S. consumers on 2024 holiday plans. Christmas and Valentine's Day come in close behind at 96%, the firm's survey found.

Halloween is also the holiday that people do the most planning ahead for, with 46% saying they plan one to two months in advance, and 12% saying they make plans more than three months in advance, according to Numerator.

Halloween: It's a monster holiday for many

Skelly is just one example of how Americans love to go big on the holiday.

Costco has a new big skeleton of its own. The Giant Ground Breaking Skeleton is more than 5 feet tall – and stretches across more than 9 feet – and appears to be emerging from your front yard. It sports red-lighted eyes and makes scary sounds.

Just unveiled on Instagram by several Costco influencer accounts, the picture shows a price of $249.99.

Ashley Hargrove, a wardrobe stylist in Austin, Texas, posted a video on Instagram about how she found it in the store June 29.

"They’re selling out quick!!" she said "Looks like they’re priced at $250 in store but $330 online which includes the shipping cost!"

The giant skeleton was sold out on the Costco site on Friday. Some are selling for more than $700 on ebay.com.

Costco did not respond to a request from USA TODAY for information about possible additional supplies of the skeleton before Halloween.

Spirit Halloween 2024 animatronics

Spirit Halloween will begin helping us all celebrate the holiday as more than 1,500 retail locations nationwide start opening next month. Its flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, opens Aug. 1.

But the retailer is already showing off its super-sized animatronic offerings on social media because you can currently pre-order many online.

Among its towering toys: a 10-foot-tall Giant Death Ray Animatronic extraterrestrial ($349.99; spaceship not included) and a 6-foot-tall Leatherface (from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre; $349.99).

Party City's Halloween animatronic presale

Party City, which closed some of its 800 stores as part of a bankruptcy proceeding last year, started its big Halloween animatronics promotion in June.

Many items are currently sold out on the site, but you could check in stores for its giant decorations, including an emerging skeleton and a pumpkin head emerging from the ground. Currently available: a 9.7-foot Dr. Payne the Fire Eater on Stilts ($324.99).

About Halloween, one enthusiastic Party City follower commented: "It's never too early to prep!"

Contributing: Gabe Hauari and Saleen Martin.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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