"This is a little strange, I am sure, but we live up the street from you and we drive by your house every day," the letter began.
One of Zahm's Halloween decorations had a secret fan.
The letter said that her daughter started a new daycare which has been a struggle. After I pick her up, I grab the dairy queen and she asks to go see the big skeleton to remember her day. My daughter was in tears hours earlier and seeing how happy it makes her happy.
The skeleton referred to is a highly sought-after decoration from Home Depot's seasonal department.
The prop is in Zahm's possession. She now calls it John Skellerman. The letter was unexpected.
Zahm said that they got misty eyed. Someone would love him more than we do.
Zahm's experience is indicative of a collective and persistent obsession with the Home Depot skeleton. The gaunt face was the driving force behind Home Depot's most successful Halloween to date, despite a significant dip in holiday spending and participation, according to the company's COO.
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The skeleton could easily have been a ruse to distract people from the real problem. People's minds were operating on a different plane in 2020 when they bought a Peloton.
It takes luck, timing, and maybe knowing a guy who knows a guy to get a Home Depot skeleton. The June and July online restocks saw the skeleton sell out quickly, with the latter contributing to the highest quarterly earnings in Home Depot history. It's been MIA ever since, scroll through the comments section on its product page for a glimpse of many wannabe buyers' troubles.
The skeleton has been targeted by scammers as if it were a next- generation gaming console or a limited edition sneaker. Resale platforms ask a lot of money over retail prices.
I set like 10 alarms because I was like, 'What if he sells out?'
Senior Merchant of Decorative Holiday Lance Allen affectionately calls the prop "Skelly" and says that Home Depot decided to add more giant Halloween decorations to its lineup because of the huge consumer response to the skeleton. Allen said the skeleton uses whatever pronouns buyers choose. There is a gender- fluid icon. The first release of a 12-foot pumpkin skeleton was in 2021. There were three additions this year, including a 15-foot Towering Phantom, a 12-foot Hovering Witch, and a 9.5-foot Immortal Werewolf.
The Home Depot skeleton is a good example of a good viral sensation. Lowe's, Walmart, Best Buy, and other retailers have all sought to ride the Big Skeleton wave. At the time of publication, it was sold out on Amazon, with a price range from $325 to $2,099.99. One customer said that he is big.
The Home depot skeleton was going to be a big hit. If you go by the specifications on its online listing, it stands at an imposing 12 feet. The LifeEyes are slow-blinking into space as if they were trying to bond with onlookers. It is waterproof. It'sposable. It takes two people to assemble. It might be possible to go through airport security. It is large. It's power as a meme is obvious.
Anthony DiMieri, a New York City-based writer, director, and producer, believes that "too absurd to fail" is a great way to describe it. He made a short film about the modern dating scene that stars our tall king as a love interest. The Home Depot skeletons were marked up four times the retail price on eBay. He said that the phrase "12-foot skeleton from Home Depot" is a comedy gold medal.
The skeleton's success is due to the fact that its price hasn't increased in its three years on the market, even after Home Depot included a plug-in power adapter. Concerns that the skeleton would get more expensive this year because of record-high inflation motivated Lindsey Wilcox, of Warner Robins, Georgia, to finally coordinate a purchase with her boyfriend and best friend.
Wilcox said that he was nervous about it. I set a lot of alarms because I was worried about him selling out. There is a permanent home for the upper half of her skeleton in her apartment.
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Something about the skeleton's staying power is not quite understood. As soon as the next big thing trends occur, the number of viral products that have faded into obscurity is insane. Home depot had it on clearance at the time of publication. The skeleton has come back with gusto in the summers and has been teaching new generations of skele-sciples. The symbol of death has taken on a life of its own.
Most of my reporting on this story was driven by a journalistic need for answers to the whys and hows of this trend, but I'd be remiss if I didn't reveal a deeply personal quest to confront a lifelongphobia.
My sisters were told to say "SK" in place of "skeleton" because it scared me. I can't touch anything with a skeleton on it, no matter what it is. You don't need to remind me that I have been ignoring the fact that there is a person under my skin. I don't want to be reminded.
The Home Depot in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood had a 12-foot skeleton on display after I had had several nice conversations with owners from around the country. I felt a moral obligation to check it out. My colleagues at Mashable have covered restocks, dupes, and the pumpkin launch. I could use the trip to get a hot dog.
It was in the center of the floor between the escalators leading to the appliance and paint departments, with a homemade sign attached to its wrist, after I stepped off the parking garage's industrial elevator.
I would like to call our encounter a personal reckoning, a moment of clarity, or a round of exposure therapy. Feelings of familiarity and amazement were percolating. I was just scared. I didn't want to make physical contact in it's presence. It was too large and frightening.
Getting close enough for a decent photo I could send to the family group chat was physically distressing, but it did make me pay attention to the price next to the sign. I asked the associate if it was in stock because I wanted to know if it was in stock.
He replied sheepishly.
What time had it been sold out?
Three weeks now.
Two pretty b̶e̶s̶t̶ f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ enemies. Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable
One side of the skeleton's needs an origin story in order to be known. Despite being widely known as the Home Depot skeleton, it was actually developed in conjunction with a small seasonal product design and consulting business called Seasonal Visions International. The products of the sister company are sold to retailers around the globe.
Someone wouldn't find that from a search on the internet. The closest it has to a website is a page on the Facebook that is inactive. The Questions & Answers section of the Home Depot website contains the only trace of it.
The company doesn't want to steal the spotlight from its retail partners. Home Depot's new phantom, floating witch, and werewolf, as well as Best Buy's 8-foot Towering Skeleton with "Digieyes", are all made by the same company. Home Depot told Mashable that it has been a great partner.
Allen is often thought of as the creator of the skeleton, having been inspired by a giant torso that appeared at trade shows and haunted houses. Allen told Mashable that the prop was the result of trying to bring customers innovation and quality that has never been available in a retail setting.
Home Depot skeletons await their new homes in an unspecified factory. Credit: Courtesy of The Home Depot
One way to jazz up a static decoration was to dilate the eyes. Why 12 feet?
Allen said that the team could do better than the 10 foot basketball hoop. The image of two grown men standing on top of each other's heads seemed to be a big hit.
As cool as the skeleton seemed, the start of the COVID Pandemic in early 2020 had SVI worried about a Halloween season for the first time in 19 years. Is anyone ready to celebrate? In an economy that was upended by supply chain crises and a decline in consumer spending, extravagant decorations of the morbid and the dead were hard to sell. Emergency funds were not used for a giant skeleton.
People were happy. Our source partially credited word of mouth and a mention in a true crime show for the enormous public response to one of its products. People in the company kept journals.
Allen said Home Depot had a hunch the skeleton would be popular with its customers after it took off online, but no one there fully understood the magnitude of its fame until it went on display in stores in August. The skeleton was supposed to be a one-time deal for 2020, but Home Depot wanted to make sure they continued to bring that excitement to their customers after many missed out. The source said that the scarcity in 2020 and 2021 was the result of supply chain issues which took a long time to resolve.
The skeleton opened many doors for the company. The original 12-footer is the only product that consumers have had a hard time getting used to.
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There is an official fan club for the Home depot skeleton on Facebook. Over the past two years, groups dedicated to the decoration have grown in size and number. Estimates for totals across the board would be over 100,000.
Hardcore Halloween people who decorate year-round and casuals who are just trying to have the scariest yard on their block are just some of the people who are found in these Facebook groups. They're places where people can celebrate the triumph of finally buying a skeleton. Virtual highlight reels are used to show off displays, runways for outfit inspiration, and creative outlets for sharing modifications. Metal spray paints, skull-to-phalange glitter, and rustic wood stains were big for the season. They're trying to come up with punny names. It's possible to prevent it from getting stolen or to convince a spouse to buy another. They're sources of sympathy when things go wrong. They swap tips on how to win over neighbors.
The Home Depot skeleton has found itself in an infinite number of locations, outfits, and poses as a result of these Facebook groups, morphing into a Midwestern porch goose. One doesn't just own this thing, it joins your family. You can tell a story at a party. It's hard to talk about the Home Depot skeleton if you don't like it.
"We are aware of the many fun groups and communities online and are so excited that The Home Depot fans have come together to celebrate Skelly," said Allen. They hope their enthusiasm will extend to Skelly's friends.
12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club is a hub for owners, soon to be owners, and admirers of the 12-foot skeleton to share pics, tips, and ideas. They have made t-shirts. She created the group after seeing people post about buying a skeleton in other forums. She was unsure if it would gain traction.
The group has over 50,000 members, which is the largest in the genre.
The display now includes two Home Depot skeletons dubbed Ray and Frankie Blue Eyes, as well as a 12-foot witch, a 15-foot phantom, and a giant snake. "As far as a theme goes, it's really more lack of will to live than anything else," he said.
Jennifer Corcoran had a neighbor make custom “Dumb and Dumber” tuxedos for her two Home Depot skeletons in 2021. Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Corcoran
Home Depot's Allen was invited to the group by Corcoran, only to find out he was already a member. Her team has a close working relationship with the retailer, which keeps close tabs on the community and flags upcoming restocks as soon as drops go live.
"We'll email them about stuff all the time and they get back to us right away," said Corcoran of Home Depot, which invited her and Randy Motes, a co- admin from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, back for its in- person Halloween and holiday showcase in 2022. "They enjoy it, they enjoy seeing everybody's displays and the things people are doing with it."
The 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club has a low profile. Their relationship is symbiotic, with her team being able to put group members in touch with SVI for help with their products, and the other being able to see how customers interact with their products. She said that sometimes they send videos with setup tips. Customers are also wanted to be happy.
While serving as middleman between these companies and consumers is just one facet of running 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club for Corcoran and her dedicated squad of 19 other admins and moderators, the rest involves a thoughtful balance of customer service, informal PR, and community building. Making sure members resell extras at a cost is one of the reasons for post approval staying on. The conversations are monitored closely to make sure they stay civil and on topic. "I know I miss hundreds, but I try to refresh the group's cover photo on a daily basis to show as many skeletons as possible." The members of the team spend an average of 10 to 40 hours a week tending to the group.
This is over a prop from a store. It's easy to see why Facebook groups are popular at a time when online connections were important. The members of the 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club would tell you that it has evolved into something else.
The group used its sense of community to raise over $150,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Home Depot stepped in with a free spare after a Home Depot skeleton was stolen in Austin, Texas, and members offered to donate their own skeletons. The crew of local members was on their way to set it up.
The skeleton has brought meaningful real-life connections to her and many other people. When she heard that a group member was looking for Home Depot's new 8-foot pumpkin stack, she booked it over and held it on her car until he arrived.
She said that it ended up being eight of them that showed up. You get to meet people that you didn't know existed. The friends we make along the way may be the real Home depot skeleton.
Maddi had a hard time getting a skeleton. An East Coast resident who spends a lot of time on social media for work, purchased one at her local Home Depot this summer after seeing a promo for the retailer's July restock on social media, hoping it would double her money in a fast sale. She doesn't include her last name to protect her identity.
Maddi's listings on Mercari, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace have been met with haggling and hostility from strangers, so the skeleton has been sitting in her parents' shed.
She claimed that people are rude. They are giving me less than I paid for it. They say you're never going to sell it. I can go to Home Depot and buy one for $300. I do not need you's. I don't know what you're going to do with it since it's sold out at Home Depot.
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The journey of Home Depot skeleton ownership is not for the faint hearted. Every Home Depot skeleton owner's worst nightmare is to have enough complaints from their neighbors to cause the skeleton to be disassembled. I don't want to see a skeleton outside my window every day. Sometimes a little backlash can help an owner.
If I get that reaction and I get that smile, then I did my day.
People knock on her door asking to take pictures with her skeleton Billy Bob Bones, according to the woman. "Triple B" stays on her front lawn year-round and has a rotating closet of costumes for different seasons and holidays; she paid "five or six hundred dollars" to have him shipped from Pennsylvania last fall and made all of his outfits herself. She can name his shirt size on Amazon.
When she opened her mailbox one day in March, she was surprised to find an anonymous note threatening court action or the removal of her "trashy" skeleton. The video she posted on TikTok has been viewed over 1.9 million times. Triple B posed with a sign that said "My mom is a lawyer" in one of the videos.
A lot of people offered to buy additional items for Triple B after seeing my video on TikTok. She didn't make a public Amazon wish list because she didn't want to ask strangers for handouts, but she would like to get another Home Depot skeleton when Triple B's wardrobe gets too full.
A man from Watkinsville, Georgia, who bought his first Home Depot skeleton in April, was dressed up in a festive Hawaiian shirt and lights for a house party this summer. His neighbor had nailed a 10- to 11-foot cross to a shed facing the skeleton as night fell. He said that it started a little war.
He has amassed an army of skeletons, including three classic Home Depot skeletons, a 12-foot mummy from Lowe's, a 7.6-foot Baphomet animatronic from Spirit Halloween, and two giant skulls. A 12-foot skeleton named Pamela Skel-Lee dances around as her standard-sized counterparts look at her from folding chairs. He wants to purchase at least three or four more skeletons, which will be placed around his pool and wrapped with string lights.
Right now, I have at least two grand invested in it. "I'm not done yet, I have a best friend who's an attorney, and I don't have the proper oversight of the homeowners association." I think it's worthwhile.
This is more than just a chance to stick it to a person. Their back-and-forth has helped his family's St. Jude raise more money than it needed to. Everyone in town knows him as the guy with the cool yard that annoyed his neighbors. It's both a personal creative release and a constant source of joy for his friends and family, specifically his wife, who works in the intensive care unit.
"If I get that smile on my face, then I did my day," she said.
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Three years of selling out and amassing a passionate fan base have posed an important question: will the Home Depot skeleton bubble ever burst?
Some members of the 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club are debating whether the prop is still cool or not. "It's like a Christmas tree, it's how you decorate it, how you display it," he said, likening the skeleton to a Christmas tree. A false sense of oversaturation is created by seeing people around the country post pictures of it on Facebook. They should come every year.
Randy Motes’ 2022 display features a 12-foot, six-inch plywood skeleton (left), which he made himself in 2020 after the Home Depot version sold out. SVI sent him a set of LifeEyes for it, he said. Credit: Mashable Composite / Courtesy of Randy Motes
Home depot skeleton owners are finding new ways to one-up themselves. He spends a couple hundred dollars each time to get the decorating ideas from 12 Ft Skeleton Halloween Club because he wants the picture. Triple B is going to be dressed in a capotain and doublet. Wilcox will wear a santa hat at Christmas. Jessi Zahm is helping John Skellerman build a relationship with his secret admirer by exchanging gifts and weekly personalized notes. He has a replica of her favorite Dairy Queen treat on his left hand.
She got a tattoo of the Home Depot skeleton on her calf this fall, and she'll have it there for the rest of her life. She said that she could have the first one. The artist of Fountain Square Tattoo is also the owner of a home depot skeleton.
Bain road-tripped to Ohio to buy her Home Depot skeleton, which is now immortalized on her calf. Credit: Courtesy of Erin Bain / Tattoo by Garrett Hudson of Fountain Square Tattoo
It's easy to see the Home Depot skeleton morphing into a spooky meme if the hype goes away. DiMieri said he's going to make a sequel to "My New Boyfriend" with a proposal and wedding scenes if he can get the funding. You moved to Home Depot.
It's hard not to root for the skeleton's continued success, even if you don't like it. It's difficult to be repelled by something that's created out of private desires. It's hard to fault anyone for getting so much joy out of a $300 Halloween decoration from a hardware corporation in a post-lockdown world. The causes to rally around are not the best.
I will not go near the Home Depot skeleton if I can help it. I might not be as scared when we cross paths again, because I know I'm in on a joke.
July 16, 2021, is a new date. The classic 12-foot skeleton was on the Home Depot website at the time of the update. There was a pumpkin skeleton that was out of stock.
America's leading source of seasonal happiness is returning.
On Wednesday, July 14, Home Depot revealed its Halloween and holiday décor collections, which included a restock of the giant skeleton with LifeEyes. The skeleton will be on Home Depot's website on July 16 for $299, the same price as it was in 2020.
Home Depot will sell an upgraded version of the 12-foot skeleton if you have an extra $50 in your budget. The "Inferno Pumpkin Skeleton" has a pumpkin for a head, a "refined hourglass figure," and flames in his rib cage, which we can only assume is due to acid reflux.
The original skeleton (left) and the new Inferno Pumpkin Skeleton (right). Credit: Mashable Composite/Home Depot
Don't have room for a huge skeleton in your yard? There are a lot of smaller, equally weird products available. We have a personal favorite. The Bone Throne is a piece of furniture that should be a lot of fun to sit in.
On July 16th, you can check them all out on the Home Depot website.
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