Home Depot’s Popular 12-Foot Skeleton Sells Out for Fourth Year in a Row

Home Depot’s 12-foot skeleton has developed a cult following online, and for the fourth year in a row, the massive Halloween decoration has sold out.

The home improvement giant did three separate online launches this year in April, July and August for the towering skeleton, nicknamed “Skelly” by his fanbase, and each time he became sold out at stores across the country.

The skeleton was also available in local stores for shoppers lucky enough to find one.

Tyler Pelfrey, brand communications manager for Home Depot, confirmed to the Denver Post that the $299 skeleton has sold out every single year since its debut in 2020.

Skelly has taken over the internet as owners show off their displays, including the wacky ways the skeleton is incorporated into other occasions or holidays like Christmas.

These ideas led Home Depot to release its own article on how to maintain, upkeep and decorate Skelly.

The hashtag #skelly on TikTok has amassed more than 121 million views, and #12ftskeleton has garnered more than 168 million views.

Given the plastic celebrity’s popularity, resellers have also been looking to make a profit, as price gougers have been found on sites like Facebook Marketplace trying to retail the skeleton for prices ranging from $350 to $599.

Erin Moriarty-Siler, a resident of Berkeley, Colorado, said she had been wanting the skeleton for years, but it always sold out. She was gifted Skelly by her husband for the eighth anniversary after he said he found a great deal on Facebook. She told the Denver Post, “I immediately started sobbing. It’s the best gift ever. It’s kismet.”

Mashable reported in September that there were rumors over the summer that this may be Skelly’s last year on the market, which the outlet noted would be surprising given how popular it is. However, that has yet to be confirmed by Home Depot.

"Like all our categories, we are constantly evaluating our [Halloween] lineups to ensure we offer products that meet our customers’ demands and expectations," Lance Allen, Home Depot’s senior merchant of decorative holiday, told Mashable. "Stay tuned next July for the 2024 lineup."

The home improvement giant has not stopped with just one giant skeleton though. This year the company began selling a 13-foot-tall Jack Skellington from Disney’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Although he is a foot shorter, Skelly still appears to be the top skeleton as Jack, who retails for $399, only has a 4.1 star rating compared to Skelly’s 4.8.