As the days get shorter and the weather cools down, the eerie chill of Halloween is in the air. You can use the best smart home devices to help your home fit the part. From spooky smart lights to motion-activated candy dispensers, here's some inspiration to make your smart home a hit with the neighbors.
These connected gadgets can be scheduled and controlled remotely to help you bring the scares, whether you're home or out shopping for the best Boo Basket picks. Read on to see how you can use the smart home gear below to make your life easier as the holiday creeps closer.
Light up the night with smart lights
The best smart lights can add some serious curb appeal to your home. Set a routine to have your outdoor smart lights turn on automatically at sunset to your choice of colors. Most smart light apps allow you to control individual segments and bulbs while also offering preset animated themes. For example, Govee's Permanent Outdoor smart lights flare orange and purple lights in their Halloween setting.
Feel free to steal a play out of my book and use your smart lights app to sync up effects to have the LEDs dance with the music. If you've never seen a home jump to the beat of Scary Spooky Skeletons, this could be your year to change that. With smart pathways or string lights, you can draw attention to your garden and add headstones or skeletons to turn it into a graveyard. Pairing the whole setup with one of the best smart speakers to play creepy sound effects or songs throughout the season really makes it all come together.
Use smart plugs to control your decorations
Outdoor smart plugs are an affordable and easy way to turn any of your existing plug-in decorations smart. You can schedule inflatables, string lights, animatronics, and even fog machines to turn on or off at certain times. If you want to activate them while away, their remote power controls let you start them up from the office and return to a haunted home. These are super versatile since you can use them throughout the year.
Set up a motion sensor and motor to dispense candy
With a motion detector, motor, and smart plug, you can distribute candy out of a bucket every time someone approaches your door. The sensor can tell the smart plug, which powers the motor, to temporarily turn itself on and off. Create this routine by making the trigger when the sensor detects motion turn the motor on.
This will be a DIY project that you can tackle in several ways. I've seen creative Redditors use a hard-wired power drill at a low speed connected to an auger that pushes candy through a chute. Others have connected the bottom doors of a candy dispenser to a linear actuator to pull them open and drop candy into a box.
Greet trick-or-treaters with ghastly Halloween tones and quick replies
You can customize the sounds of any Ring video doorbell to make your entryway more festive. The Ring app offers a variety of tones to choose from such as: bats, ghosts, howls, screams, spooky organs, a witch's cackle, monster grunts, creepy laughs, screeching cat or even a creaking door. If you want to take things a step further the doorbell also supports custom quick replies you can use as you make your way to the door. These include:
- "Fire burn, cauldron bubble, leave your message on the double."
- "Trick or treat, smell our feet, leave a message at the beep."
- "[Howl] Be Right there!"
- "I'll be right there to eat...I mean greet you."
- "Tell us what brings you here... or we'll put a spell on you!"
- "Earthling, we'll be right there."
- "You've woken the spirits! Please leave a message."
- "Just a minute! Feel free to park your broom."
Create a jump scare with smart blinds and curtains
If you have a front-facing window and some smart curtains or blinds, you can place a scary prop behind it to pop out as trick-or-treaters approach. I know if I had the money for the life-sized Jason Vorhees statue my neighbors have, I'd have a field day as it slowly unveiled itself to unsuspecting trick-or-treaters. Plus it's a great way to ensure the kiddos only take one piece from the candy bowl if you're away.
Just bind your smart curtains or blinds to a motion sensor in your smart home app's Routines or Automations section. When the sensor detects movement, you can open the curtains to reveal a figure in the window and return them to a closed position after a few seconds.
More from Tom's Guide
