{"id":2045220,"date":"2026-07-15T17:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2045220"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:00:28","slug":"home-depots-12-foot-skeleton-is-almost-becoming-self-aware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2045220","title":{"rendered":"Home Depot\u2019s 12-Foot Skeleton Is (Almost) Becoming Self-Aware"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Home_Depot_skelly-1200×675.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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While a 12-foot skeleton is an arresting sight even if it\u2019s just standing still, not doing anything in particular, Home Depot knows that Halloween fanatics will always shell out any time Skelly evolves. The spooky icon gets a big tech upgrade this year, and while it\u2019s not quite<\/em> lurching into self-aware robot territory yet, we\u2019re inching ever closer with this latest model.<\/p>\n

While you can still pick up the original Skelly ($299), which comes equipped with \u201cLCD LifeEyes\u201d featuring eight different expressive options, you can now choose a version \u201cwith app-enabled upgrades that let owners customize head and mouth movements with servo motors, speak through the Skelly animatronic in real time via Bluetooth, record up to 30 sounds, and choose from 20 different LCD LifeEyes effects,\u201d according to a Home Depot press release.<\/p>\n

\"Skellycloseup3\"
\u00a9 Home Depot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The possibilities are endless, and one of them is that you can hide in your house and use a shrieking Skelly (using the included \u201cvoice-changing effects\u201d) to terrify trick-or-treaters (on Halloween) or your nosiest neighbors (on any other day of the year).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not quite to the \u201cfully mobile Skelly\u201d phase of human existence, but you have to assume Home Depot is working behind the scenes to make that a reality someday. In the meantime, Skelly has some new additions to his yard posse this year, including a new 11-foot mummy friend ($299). Its eyes and chest light up, and you can pose its shoulders and arrange the wrappings to find the right menacing pose for your display.<\/p>\n

\"Home
\u00a9 Home Depot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other newbies for 2026 include several new interactive animatronics, with some famous faces: a Flying Monkey from Wicked<\/em>, a trio of Gremlins, and a Stitch that\u2019s more cute than scary and also comes with a holiday ensemble so you can keep him posted up through Christmas.<\/p>\n

You can see the full array of \u201clarger-than-life animatronics, immersive d\u00e9cor, and interactive features\u201d starting tomorrow, July 16, on Home Depot\u2019s website and app; they will arrive in stores starting in late August.<\/p>\n

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Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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While a 12-foot skeleton is an arresting sight even if it\u2019s just standing still, not doing anything in particular, Home Depot knows that Halloween fanatics will always shell out any time Skelly evolves. The spooky icon gets a big tech upgrade this year, and while it\u2019s not quite<\/em> lurching into self-aware robot territory yet, we\u2019re inching ever closer with this latest model.<\/p>\n

While you can still pick up the original Skelly ($299), which comes equipped with \u201cLCD LifeEyes\u201d featuring eight different expressive options, you can now choose a version \u201cwith app-enabled upgrades that let owners customize head and mouth movements with servo motors, speak through the Skelly animatronic in real time via Bluetooth, record up to 30 sounds, and choose from 20 different LCD LifeEyes effects,\u201d according to a Home Depot press release.<\/p>\n

\"Skellycloseup3\"
\u00a9 Home Depot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The possibilities are endless, and one of them is that you can hide in your house and use a shrieking Skelly (using the included \u201cvoice-changing effects\u201d) to terrify trick-or-treaters (on Halloween) or your nosiest neighbors (on any other day of the year).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not quite to the \u201cfully mobile Skelly\u201d phase of human existence, but you have to assume Home Depot is working behind the scenes to make that a reality someday. In the meantime, Skelly has some new additions to his yard posse this year, including a new 11-foot mummy friend ($299). Its eyes and chest light up, and you can pose its shoulders and arrange the wrappings to find the right menacing pose for your display.<\/p>\n

\"Home
\u00a9 Home Depot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other newbies for 2026 include several new interactive animatronics, with some famous faces: a Flying Monkey from Wicked<\/em>, a trio of Gremlins, and a Stitch that\u2019s more cute than scary and also comes with a holiday ensemble so you can keep him posted up through Christmas.<\/p>\n

You can see the full array of \u201clarger-than-life animatronics, immersive d\u00e9cor, and interactive features\u201d starting tomorrow, July 16, on Home Depot\u2019s website and app; they will arrive in stores starting in late August.<\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Home_Depot_skelly-1200×675.jpg”] While a 12-foot skeleton is an arresting sight even if it\u2019s just standing still, not doing anything in particular, Home Depot knows that Halloween fanatics will always shell out any time Skelly evolves. The spooky icon gets a big tech upgrade this year, and while it\u2019s not quite lurching into self-aware robot […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,53],"class_list":["post-2045220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-gizmodo-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2045220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2045220\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2045220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2045220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2045220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}