Hack your home security to scare trick-or-treaters for Halloween 2024

After you’ve planned your decorations and gotten the candy, there’s another part of your home you can use to make October even spookier – your security system. Recruit your home security system to have even more fun this Halloween season by taking advantage of the settings and devices you already have without spending any extra money.

Security devices like video doorbells and home security cameras come with spooky settings and neat tricks that can help you prepare for Halloween with minimal effort. If you’re lucky, you could even win a prize! Here are our favorite safety changes to make before Halloween.

Set your video doorbells for maximum spookiness

Video doorbells have two settings suitable for Halloween upgrades: Chime and Quick Reply. Both are designed to react when someone (or something) rings the doorbell, making it the perfect way to prepare your porch for welcoming guests.

First, you need to find the “Bell” or “Quick Reply” options in your settings. The way you activate Halloween Tricks may vary between systems. So take a look at your personal security system for more information. Here is a brief overview of popular brands:

• ring: Choose your doorbell, choose Smart answersand switch on Quick answers. Use that Quick reply message Function to find quick answers about Halloween and select one, for example a Dracula or witch greeting.
• Lively: Starting October 16th, you can set both using the Vivint app Doorbell chimes and Approach The chime sounds, the latter ringing early as the trick-or-treaters approach the front door. Doorbell effects include Spooky Laugh, How at the Moon, Creepy Bells and several other options. Approach bells include extras like a spooky welcome, haunted forest, in the dark theme and more. Once the service is available, select the Halloween Chimes banner in the app.
• Eufy: Keep your app updated and review the Voice response List during Halloween to add effects like a spooky greeting.
• Google Nest: Visit the doorbell Settingschoose DoorbellThen Doorbell themeand then select that Halloween Theme. Nest used to offer specific chime options, but now there’s just a general Halloween chime.

Keep in mind that these features typically require a video doorbell and not just your standard security camera.

Capture a ghost with your Ring camera and win $100,000

Ring has a new move for this year’s Halloween festivities, and it could net you some serious prizes if you want to play along. The game is called “Great Ghost Search” and to play you must capture a “ghost” with your Ring camera or doorbell and then share the video clip with Ring and the Ring community for a chance to win.

Ring will be considering all types of videos for the competition, from creating a realistic, truly frightening look into the paranormal world to an absolutely hilarious video of your dad in a sheet. Videos must be 30 seconds or less and you should act quickly as Ring will cancel the contest once 5,000 authentic entries are received or November 1st is reached. The grand prize is a whopping $100,000 in cash. (Ring suggests using it as a down payment on a house, which is sadly sensible.)

Put a security camera on your porch and test two-way audio

If you don’t have a video doorbell or front porch camera, we recommend taking one of your home security cameras and temporarily installing it on your door so it can keep an eye on everything.

It’s not just about security: Today’s wireless security cameras have two-way audio and motion detection, so you can know when people are arriving and use the audio feature to mimic a creepy greeting, like “I want to play a game.” .” or “We’re all floating down here!” Get creative and practice your favorite voice!

Adhesive mounts make it easy to move a security camera, but you can also simply remove the camera from the mount and place it on the porch railing or on a staircase for the night. And if you hide it in the shadows or in the bushes so that a scary voice can come from the darkness, then we won’t stop you.

Reduce doorbell motion sensitivity for trick-or-treaters

This is the perfect time to dive into your doorbell and camera motion detection settings and turn down the sensitivity. Ideally, you want your sensors to go off when trick-or-treaters approach your door, but not when every gaggle of kids runs down the sidewalk.

Experiment with sensitivity settings and motion a day or two before Halloween to get your system ready. Along the way, you might figure out how to prevent your camera from going off at every dog ​​walker or delivery guy that walks by!

Add a Halloween faceplate to your doorbell

To really get into the Halloween spirit, you can upgrade certain doorbells with a new faceplate to celebrate the season. Ring is particularly good at providing users with these options. with $15 Halloween plates You can switch up if necessary, but you can also find DIY options on Etsy. Just make sure the faceplate fits your video doorbell model.

Set up a smart display to keep your cameras in view

Motion alerts can be helpful, but if you really want to give visitors an experience (or a healthy scare), go with a smart display like an Echo Show. When connected to your security cameras or video doorbells via compatible apps, these smart displays can show you live views while the parties are happening outside, so you can take a look to get an idea of ​​when people are approaching your Approaching home – and at the best time to do so, jump on her.

To do this trick, make sure your doorbell or camera works with your smart display. Some doorbells, like the Ring or Blink models, only work with Alexa screens like Echo Shows. If you don’t have a smart display, you can use a tablet connected to the Alexa or Google Home app for the same result. Additionally, some cameras may have a limit on how long you can view Live View, but many have no limit as long as you maintain Live View.

Read more: Best Smart Displays of 2024

Disable your security system for the big night

If your security system is set on an automatic schedule, it’s a good idea to give it a break for Halloween night, or at least until the candy runs out. You’ll be monitoring your doors pretty closely anyway, and you don’t want an unexpectedly armed security system to sound sirens or lights and startle trick-or-treaters (or yourself).

Disarm your system early in the day to prepare for the youngest visitors and reactivate it before bed or in the morning. Don’t worry, you can still watch with smart cameras and motion detection to detect tricks instead of treats.

Complete your home security preparation with our top tips for deterring burglars, the worst places to install a security camera, and the top security myths homeowners should stop believing.