Big Lots isn’t exactly what comes to mind when you think about Halloween props but they are working hard to change that. I stopped by the location close to me in Nashville, TN and found that they have a lot of Halloween items out already even though it’s early January. The manager informed me that they have some stuff out now and more on the way which will be put out in the coming weeks. I’ll definitely check back to see what they have because they had some nice props at a fair price. A lot of retailers will gouge you and overcharge for seasonal items but from what I saw Big Lots wasn’t that bad and had props that were very affordable.
The item that caught my eye was the Haunted Scarecrow as soon as I walked in the store. The prop stands 6′ tall and has eyes that light up when he in interacting with you. There is also a crow on his right shoulder which means he’s not doing a very good job at scaring crows. Here is the Haunted Scarecrow in action.
The Scarecrow I saw in my store had problems with his mouth not working but his eyes still lit up when he spoke. He still had three phrases he said when activated.
“Hey, get off my lawn, ha ha ha!”
“Don’t you know a scarecrow when you see one?”
“Looks like we have some trespassers. Get out of here!”
The scarecrow isn’t much to look at and doesn’t move anything but his mouth. But then again a scarecrow out in a cornfield isn’t much but a hat, shirt and pants stuffed with hay so in reality you don’t want to overdo a scarecrow prop if you want to make it realistic.
You can’t plug the Haunted Scarecrow in because he runs on 3 AA batteries which are included. A lot of prop manufacturers cut cost and don’t include batteries so it’s nice when you don’t have to worry about that.
At $60 the Haunted Scarecrow is reasonably priced. Most Halloween props can run upwards of $100 so to find one for almost half that is reasonable. But if you can hold off you would likely be able to get him for $45 closer to Halloween when Big Lots marks down their merchandise as the holiday gets closer. If you wait until after Halloween, and he’s still available the Haunted Scarecrow will marked down 50% and available for $30. Waiting until November 1 to buy your props for next year is a great time to stock up.
I have interest in the Scarecrow but will likely wait until after Halloween to pull the trigger. I wasn’t blown away by the prop and there are other scarecrow animatronics on the market that are a lot better. If I do wind up picking him up I will definitely consider buying a cool scarecrow mask and putting it on him. You can always buy cheap animatronics and fix them up yourself. I’ve done that a lot over the years by buying cheap props at CVS and Rite Aid over the years after Halloween and putting a scary mask on them to improve their look.
If you are on a budget this year $60 isn’t too bad for a prop. It’s kid friendly and not very scary. Ultimately it’s your call on whether you pull the trigger and drop the money on the Haunted Scarecrow.