Spooky season is right around the corner and Home Depot’s huge skeleton is back – with a twist.
Skelly, as the bony giant is called, is getting a high–tech update. The new ‘Ultra Skelly’ has Bluetooth capabilities for real–time interactions with guests, as well as five preset recording options and 30 seconds of customizable recordings.
For an extra scary kick, the skeleton’s voice can have an ‘eerie’ modulation and 18 eye variations.
Skelly’s latest version – at 6.5 feet – is shorter than the original 12–foot version, which will also remain available at Home Depot.
The new skeleton ‘state–of–the–art animatronic’ is priced at $279, compared to the original’s $299.
Skelly can also be accompanied by a new 5–foot skeleton dog with LCD eyes that Home Depot jokingly warns is ‘not–so–friendly’.
A new LED skeleton cat is included in the upcoming Halloween collection, as well.
Previously, Skelly could have a 7–foot dog as a pet and that will also still be available.
Home Depot’s huge skeleton is back with a high-tech update
Skelly was launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and became a fan favorite
The updated Skelly is 6.5-feet tall and comes with Bluetooth capabilities for real-life interactions, five recorded presets and 30 seconds of custom recordings
The towering skeleton is a clear fan favorite.
‘If I die in a car accident instead of marking the site with a cross and flowers please mark it with a 12 foot home depot skeleton,’ one X user said.
‘I FINALLY got a 12′ Home Depot skelly! I’m soooo excited to put him up!!!!,’ a Reddit user added.
Home Depot introduced Skelly in 2020 during the COVID–19 pandemic. The company was unsure about how the ossified companion would be received and whether he might be considered ‘in poor taste’.
Instead, the skeleton quickly became a viral star with users online dressing him up and driving him around.
Lance Allen, Home Depot’s senior merchant of decorative holiday, said: ‘Nobody could possibly need a 12–foot skeleton, but everybody wanted a 12–foot skeleton.’
Other companies also offer enlarged skeletons. Lowe’s sells a 10–foot ‘poseable’ skeleton for $249, while Walmart offers a 7–foot hanging version for about $80 and a 5–foot standing skeleton for about $28.
Skelly’s original design was supposed to be 10–feet tall but the height soon changed for the skeleton to be big enough to be ‘looking down at a basketball hoop’, Allen said in 2023.
Home Depot is still selling the original 12-foot Skelly
The towering skeleton quickly became a viral sensation when it was released in the pandemic
Skelly can also be accompanied by a new 5–foot skeleton dog with LCD eyes that Home Depot jokingly warns is ‘not–so–friendly’
That came with some logistical problems for Home Depot since Skelly still needed to be easy to move and relatively inexpensive.
Allen said: ‘The neck looked so goofy. You have no idea how long your neck actually is. So we actually had to remove vertebrae out of the neck, just because people wouldn’t believe it was anatomically correct, because the neck was so long.’
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