Turn your home into a spooktacular haunted house this Halloween season with a little help from these smart home gadgets
From spine-tingling smart lights to motion-activated candy surprises, smart tech can be a deceivingly easy and affordable way to surprise your neighbours with a slew of scary scenes in your own front yard.
Illuminate your spooky scene with smart lights
First up, let’s talk about lighting. Every haunted house needs that eerie glow, and with smart lights, you can take your spooky decor to new heights.
Set your outdoor lights to automatically flick on at dusk and choose sinister colours like orange, purple, or even blood red. Some smart light brands, like Govee, have ready-made Halloween themes that’ll make your house glow like a ghostly manor.
Want to really wow the neighbourhood? Sync your lights with a playlist of spooky tunes! Imagine your house flashing to the beat of “Spooky, Scary Skeletons”—it’ll be the coolest haunted house on the block.
Add some glowing path lights and prop up some skeletons, gravestones, or pumpkins, and you’ve got yourself one seriously spooky scene. Pair it with a smart speaker to play eerie sound effects, and you’ll be all set for a frightful night!
Power up your frights with smart plugs
Got inflatables, animatronics, or fog machines? Make them even spookier by adding smart plugs into the mix. With outdoor smart plugs, you can set your decorations to go off at just the right moment—turning your ordinary front yard into a full-on haunted attraction.
Schedule your inflatables to pop up right when trick-or-treaters arrive or power up your fog machine for an extra eerie touch.
The best part? You can control everything from your phone, whether you’re home or grabbing some last-minute candy at the store. Tapo and Wyze offer affordable smart plugs with weatherproof designs, so you don’t have to worry about rain ruining your Halloween setup.
Plus, they work with Alexa and Google Home, making it super easy to spookify your house!
A motion-activated candy dispenser
This one’s for the candy lovers! Want to blow the minds of trick-or-treaters? Create a motion-activated candy dispenser using a sensor, motor, and smart plug. When someone approaches your door, the sensor will trigger the motor to deliver candy, making it feel like your house is handing out treats all on its own.
It’s a fun DIY project with endless possibilities. You could rig up a power drill to push candy down a chute or use a dispenser that drops candy into trick-or-treaters’ bags.
Or if you’re in a frightful mood, check out this automatic candy dispenser I found on Amazon. Unlucky treat lovers will be in for a scare when the bowl bites back with a skeletal hand of its own!
Spooky doorbell sounds
Got a Ring video doorbell? Take your front door from basic to bone-chilling by changing the doorbell sounds to something a little more… sinister.
The Ring app offers a whole menu of Halloween-inspired sounds like ghostly wails, creepy laughs, and even howling werewolves. When trick-or-treaters ring the doorbell, they’ll be greeted with spooky sounds sure to give them goosebumps.
But wait, there’s more! Ring’s quick replies let you respond to visitors with custom Halloween messages. Try “I’ll be right there… to eat you!” or “You’ve woken the spirits! Please leave a message!” It’s an always hilarious way to add an extra layer of fun to your Halloween night.
Create a jump scare with smart curtains
Want to give trick-or-treaters a scare they won’t forget? If you have smart curtains or Switchbot’s low-fi friendly electric curtain motor, you can set up a jump scare that’ll have them running down the street! Just place a scary prop—like a creepy doll or a life-sized zombie—behind your window and connect your smart curtains to a motion sensor.
When the sensor detects someone approaching, the curtains will open, revealing your spooky surprise. After a few seconds, they’ll close again, leaving your visitors both terrified and amazed. It’s a simple yet effective way to add a high-tech scare to your Halloween setup.
