A common internet joke from a few years back involved going to Target for one thing, and leaving with a cartful of unrelated items. And for the past several years, there's been a new, very real threat to wallets across North America: Going to Home Depot for some tools, and coming home with a 12-foot-tall skeleton strapped to the roof of your Mini Cooper.

TikTok user Emma Kent documented this exact experience when she sent her boyfriend out for some batteries and he returned with Skelly, the internet's nickname for Home Depot's viral giant skeleton that has become a Halloween staple since it debuted in 2020. Skelly has inspired something of a cult fan base, with lovers of the towering decoration keeping it out all year and dressing it up for different holidays, creating videos of Skelly going on dates, and collecting a legion of smaller spooky friends to arrange around him.

According to Home Depot, Skelly is "so popular that it is the only product that we have brought back each year, and it has sold out every year that it's been available." This year, Home Depot has quadrupled the number of Skellies it made in 2020, continuing to sell the giant skeleton at $299. And the brand isn't letting its marketing moment in the sun go to waste, either.

In the years following Skelly's initial success, Home Depot has been working to create new decor that will grab fans' attention. "Since creating the Giant 12-foot category, we have expanded our SKU selection of Giants by five times," the company told Fast Company.