The best Halloween decorations and animatronics of 2026, from a smarter Skelly to that viral horny pumpkin

A fake cobweb and a few carved pumpkins won't do.

Having the best Halloween display on the block means hunting down unconventional and highly interactive pieces that give your neighbors a good scare — or a good laugh. (Let's hope your HOA is a fan, too.) After covering and monitoring all of the biggest launches of the year so far, we've put together a definitive list of the best Halloween decorations and animatronics of 2026.

There's still time to put some up if you haven't already, and as a bonus, many are on sale at this point in the season.

An upgraded 12-foot skeleton Credit: The Home Depot Skelly can talk now ! The Home Depot went high-tech in updating its beloved 12-foot skeleton for 2026.

Using a companion mobile app, you can now chat with trick-or-treaters though the animatronic in real time or record up to 30 custom voice lines for it to play.

It also has a new moving head, a light-up ribcage, and 20 different eye effects.

This marks Skelly's biggest upgrade since it launched with fanfare back in 2020 .

This new app-controlled Skelly costs $80 more than the standard version, which continues to be a hit on social media.

A video of two Skellies dressed up as characters from the Chicks' song "Goodbye Earl" amassed more than 12 million views on TikTok this fall.

Another clip of a fully rhinestoned Skelly is at nearly 2 million views.

No bones about it: He's still the reigning king of spooky season.

Opens in a new window Credit: The Home Depot 12-foot Giant-Sized Animated LED App-Controlled Skelly $379 at The Home Depot Shop Now An even taller headless skeleton Credit: Lowe's Is there anything scarier than the surveillance state ? Lowe's new talking, overall-clad Skeleton Watcher holds its glowing skull in the air for a better view of the neighborhood. (Note: It doesn't actually have cameras in its eyes, but they do light up.) It's the largest Halloween animatronic on the market this year, towering over Skelly at 15 feet tall.

This one was on clearance, and on the verge of selling out, at the time of writing.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lowe's Haunted Living 15-foot Talking Lighted Skeleton Watcher Motion-Activated Animatronic $343.20 at Lowe's $429 Save $85.80 Shop Now A talking zombie parrot Credit: The Home Depot The Home Depot's new five-foot Rotwing Parrot is an oversized blue-and-gold macaw that fell off the perch.