By BARBARA ORTUTAY

Updated 12:44 PM EDT, October 29, 2026

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It reared its bony head in 2020, during that first, chaotic pandemic year that was rife with grief and fear but also toilet paper hoarding and questionable lockdown-inspired purchases. Behold Skelly, the 12-foot, 90-pound skeleton, on sale for $299 from Home Depot, just in time for Halloween — at least, if you can get your hands on one.

Many did, because this is America. And when we get sad, stressed or bored, we shop, drowning our collective anxieties in things that we definitely don’t need but most certainly want.

So, beginning in 2020, Skelly showed up on suburban lawns from California to New Jersey and on brownstone stoops in Brooklyn, naked or dressed in a costume, towering over jack-o’-lanterns and plastic gravestones with spooky puns like “Rest In Pieces.” It didn’t take long for people to realize that keeping Skelly out year-round meant new…