Simon Hill
All the best smart speakers can help you frighten guests or create the haunting ambiance you are after. If you have any Alexa speakers, simply say “Alexa, let’s get spooky.” and it will run through different options. There are many Halloween-related skills, such as Spooky Halloween Sounds, Scary Monster, and Spine Chilling Halloween Sounds.
Say “Hey Google, get spooky,” and you’ll get some sound effects and spooky music on any Google speakers or smart displays you have. You can also ask Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri for costume ideas or to tell you a scary story.
Ring, Nest, and some other smart doorbells offer Halloween sounds and chimes that can replace your regular ringtone. Take a look at your app and see if you have seasonal options. Here’s how to set Halloween doorbell chimes for a couple of the main doorbell makers:
In the Ring app, choose your device and tap Audio Settings and Chime Tones to find Halloween chimes like Dracula Theme and Creepy Laugh. If you are off out trick and treating, you can also tap the Smart Responses tile to toggle Quick Replies on. Tap Enable Feature on the next screen and Quick Reply Message and choose something like Ghostly Greetings.
For Nest doorbells, open the Google Home app, choose your doorbell and tap the three vertical dots at the top right to find Settings, then Doorbell and Doorbell Theme to select Halloween.
For best results, create a trigger that sets off lighting and sound effects when someone approaches. You can use IFTTT to link devices together and create a terrifying sequence. When someone presses the doorbell, for example, you could turn off all your front lights for a second, have them come back on in red, and then play a blood-curdling scream.
Scary Scenes
Photograph: AtmosFX
Serious Halloween fans looking to take things to the next level should check out digital decorations. Atmos FX sells MP4 files that you can play on a monitor or stick on a USB drive to play on your TV, but they work best with projectors. You can play ghostly apparitions, shambling zombies, and many more things that go bump in the night. You just need a white projection screen you can set up in your window (although a cheap white shower curtain works well, too).
Many come with or without backgrounds and in a horizontal or vertical format to suit your setup. The talking jack-o’-lanterns are great for younger kids and can even be projected onto real pumpkins. To scare older kids and adults, try the Night Stalkers collection. The animations are top quality, with sound effects and music included. Set this up in your front window, with a fog machine underneath, and you are sure to attract a horde of trick-and-treaters.