The rise of the 15-foot skeleton—how a viral novelty became a Halloween staple
In just six years, giant skeletons have gone from an absurd viral novelty to the centerpiece of an expanding retail arms race for the front lawn.
Key points
- Home Depot introduced the 12-foot Skelly skeleton in 2020 for $299 and it quickly sold out.
- Americans are expected to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, up from $8.8 billion in 2019.
- Home Depot quadrupled Skelly production by 2024 and increased its giant Halloween assortment fivefold.
Giant skeletons have become a Halloween staple since Home Depot launched its 12-foot Skelly in 2020. The $299 decoration sold out quickly, with some reselling for around $1,000, and big-box retailers have since expanded their lines of towering monsters each fall.
Americans are expected to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, up from $8.8 billion in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending on decorations alone has risen from $2.6 billion to $4.3 billion over that period.
Retailers expand giant displays
By 2024, Home Depot had quadrupled production of Skelly from its first year and increased its assortment of giant Halloween decorations fivefold, according to Fast Company. It has introduced at least one new giant every year since 2021, said Tyler Pelfrey, a manager of brand communications at Home Depot.
Sam's Club now offers oversized animatronics reaching 12 feet tall, while Lowe's sells the 15-foot headless Skeleton Watcher. Home Depot has also upgraded Skelly with an app-controlled version that can move its head and mouth and let owners speak through it in real time.
Halloween has evolved from a discrete event into an extended consumption season
— Ross Steinman, a consumer psychology professor at Widener University
Why the skeletons appeal
Home Depot's team wanted something "larger than life" when it began developing Skelly in 2019, said Lance Allen, the retailer's senior product merchant, in a 2024 Vice oral history. The 12-foot skeleton debuted during the first Halloween of the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were social distancing and spending more time at home.
Owners have kept the skeletons up year-round, dressing them for Christmas and Independence Day. Home Depot eventually added UV protection and changed the resin to better withstand summer heat. Arby's this year released a $46.66 "Meat Sweats" tracksuit designed to fit a 12-foot skeleton.
