It’s Summerween! It’s that time of year when the days are long, and Halloween comes early for all the spooky girls and boys.
Lowe’s has already debuted part of their Halloween lineup for the year, and they’ve got a real giant of an animatronic this time around: the 15-foot (!) Animated Skeleton Watcher. They sent me one to help you decide if you want to have this giant welcoming trick or treaters to your homes.
What Is the Lowe’s Haunted Living 15-Foot Animated Skeleton Watcher?
The Animated Skeleton Watcher is a 15-foot tall, motion activated prop designed to be outdoors. It retails for $429, and can be purchase on the Lowe’s website or from a Lowe’s store. Here are the features:
- WATCH OUT—the towering, headless 15-FT ANIMATED WATCHER™ holds his severed skull high, scanning the scene with LED eyes blazing like a watchtower beacon sweeping across your haunt!
- Turning eerily from side to side, the 15-FT ANIMATED WATCHER™ commands attention with chilling phrases, spooky sounds, and sweeping LED eyes that keep your haunt under constant surveillance!
- Outdoor-rated and frightfully strong, this easy-to-assemble, sound, motion, or footpad/button (sold separately) activated giant stands tall with a sturdy metal frame, super-bright LED lights, external speaker capable (not included), and powered by 5.9V 3A DC adapter (included)!
Assembling the 15-Foot Animated Skeleton Watcher
Opening up the 74-lb box, you’ll find the contents neatly organized, with many parts protected by bubble wrap. If you’re intending to store it in the box later, I always recommend taking multiple photos as you remove parts, so you’re able to fit everything back inside at the end of the spooky season.
The assembly of the Animated Skeleton Watcher is pretty straightforward, especially if you’ve built a giant before. You always start at the base, and then build up:
Something that I found interesting about the build is that there are several metal rings that you’ll use during construction to help bulk out the legs and the chest. They’re easy to insert, and lock in with the use of cotter pins.
There are also several thumbscrews included, to help secure the poles together. The poles are already pretty securely connected without them, so they’re just an added measure.
Once the legs are attached, it’s time to lay down the prop and continue the build. You use the Skeleton Watcher’s box to keep the prop at a workable angle.
The next step is to pull the clothes down over the legs, then attach the waist frame.
After you get the waistframe attached, you’re going to run a metal tension wire from that frame down to the base, where it will connect with a turnbuckle wire tensioner. At first when I was assembling, it seemed like the tension wire wasn’t long enough. I realized that I had to significantly loosen the turnbuckle to be able to secure the wire. Don’t worry about that, as you’ll tighten it all up later in the assembly.
Next up is attaching the shoulder frame, and an additional metal loop for the chest.
At this point in the build, you’ll connect several wires to the ones coming out of the control box. One wire comes down from the shoulder frame, and you snake it down inside of the frame to connect it. Another is from the sensor located on the front of the prop’s pants. You can also easily access the control panel from a velcro opening in the side of the left leg.
The final part of the build recommends that you use three people, and I will definitely say from experience that this is a good recommendation. After pulling up the clothes and closing the shirt and overalls with velcro, you’ll attach the arms to the shoulder frame, then the head to the arms, and finally the hands to the arms. There are also wires that you’ll connect from the left arm to the skull.
Once that’s done, you’ll want to use those three same people to walk the Animated Skeleton Watcher upright. Once he’s up, you’ll adjust the tension in the turnbuckle wire tensioner, so that the skeleton isn’t leaning.
Once you’ve got the Animated Skeleton Watcher up, the next step is making sure he’s stable. That means inserting the metal base supports, and running the tether lines from the waistframe down to the included ground stakes. The tether lines run out through grommets in the back of the Skeleton Watcher’s shirt.
I really appreciated the clips that are on the tether lines, which allow you to loop a line through the top of the stake and then clip it back onto the tether line. This gives you good tension in each line, no matter how close or far away you’ve placed the stakes.
After that, all that’s left is to plug the Animated Skeleton Watcher in and see him go!
The Skeleton Watcher is plenty imposing in the day with his 15-ft height, but it’s at night where he’ll really shine (no pun intended). He has multiple phrases, as you can see here:
And here:
The Lowe’s Haunted Living 15-ft Animated Skeleton Watcher – Final Thoughts
I’ll be honest, when I first saw photos of a giant skeleton in overalls clutching his head, I wasn’t very impressed. This is supposed to be scary?
But my opinion changed upon putting the Skeleton Watcher together and seeing him in action. With that 15-ft height, this is an incredibly imposing prop. We assembled him in our neighbor’s backyard, and then took this photo from a second-story window in our house:
Three things really sell the Animated Skeleton Watcher as a creepy masterpiece. The first one is the height. The second is the voice and sound effects, which if you haven’t heard already, go back and watch those videos right now! And third? The eyes. Those bright LEDs are spotlights, which sweep the area in the dark, searching for souls. I was definitely hoping they’d be that bright, and I wasn’t disappointed. Here’s a look at the lights falling on a wall:
If you’re looking for a standout, scary prop for Halloween that will really stand out, then the Animated Skeleton Watcher could be just what you’re looking for. It’s sure to make an impression on everyone that sees it in action, and will especially fit in well if you have some of those animal skeleton props that have become popular in recent years. I’ve consistently been impressed with Lowe’s giant animatronics. They’re easy to assemble and look and sound great, and have never failed to draw a crowd, and the Animated Skeleton Watcher is no exception.
For more information or to make a purchase, head to Lowe’s website or your local Lowe’s store.
Lowe’s sent a unit for evaluation but had no input into this review.
