Charles Langston:Lowe's 'releasing the kraken' with Halloween 2024 'Haunted Harbor' collection

Lowe's has welcomed Halloween fans to dive into its 2024 collection of seafaring horror and Charles Langstonunderwater haunts.

The retailer recently released its latest set of holiday decor, titled the "Haunted Harbor." Capitalizing on the chilling trend of online videos that showcase the sinister side of the sea, the new line features five new animatronics and one additional sea monster.

Like competitors Home Depot and Target, Lowe's wasted no time getting its Halloween line out on the market, even as the summer days remain hot.

Already planning your decore theme for the fall? Here's what Lowe's has to offer.

Release the kraken

As Lowe's has already said: it's time to release the kraken! The only non-animated decoration in the Haunted Harbor, the 3.5-foot Kraken is designed to live on your lawn.

Stake his monstrous head and four gray tentacles into the grass and turn him on to see his eyes illuminate and his tentacles glow a fluorescent green.

The 3.5-ft LED Kraken Monster Yard Decoration is an online exclusive that sells on the Lowe's website for $199. It is currently out of stock. USA TODAY has reached out to Lowe's to see if it will be restocked before Halloween.

Sea witches and hags

What's creepier than a sea witch? Two sea witches, of course.

Lower on the hierarchy of the hag totem pole is Ethel, a nearly 6-foot animatronic seaweed witch with cat-like glowing eyes, long, tangled grey hair and fish-like, webbed fingers.

Her tattered red and grey robes are overlayed with a mess of fishing net and seaweed and she grips a glowing magic staff that moves with her arm. Her mouth also moves as she recites classic witchy phrases, curses your sea voyage and lets out a cackle.

Taking it up a notch, Ethel is accompanied in her goal of sinking unsuspecting ships by the wicked sea witch queen.

She stands around 6.5 feet tall and is afflicted with iconic witchy green skin. Draped in a floor-length grey hooded gown, her head and chest are covered in fishing net from which dregs of seaweed dangle.

Her horrifying face is distorted into a menacing grin with sharp, pointed teeth on full display. Perhaps even more likely to give you the heebie-jeebies are her long, curving and webbed fingers and overgrown fingernails. One hand clutches a wooden staff wrapped in a lobster leg and remnants of other underwater creatures.

She is not only taller than Ethel but is also more animated. Her head, eyes, neck and mouth move as she speaks, while her free hand raises into the air and appears to reach out to grab guests. Her eyes and claw-like hand both glow as she recites her ominous lines.

• The 6-ft Talking LED Ethel the Sea Witch Animatronic sells online for $179.
• The 6.5-ft Talking LED Servo Sea Witch Animatronic sells online for $379.

Undead diver

Sometimes deep sea expeditions don't go as planned - just ask this undead diver.

Also life-sized at over 6 feet tall, this unfortunate diver seems to have never made it back from his last voyage alive, if the skeletal face peering through the helmet is any indication.

Clad in a full steampunk-style deep-sea diving suit, this animatronic also clutches a harpoon with rogue seaweed hanging from the tip. His helmet glows a sickly green to illuminate the grinning face of a skull through the viewing window.

The diver moves side to side while reciting lines and playing monstrous sounds from the sea floor. When he's not triggered by a passerby, his helmet remains dark, setting the stage for a startling face reveal.

The 6-ft Talking LED Sea Diver Animatronic sells online for $349.

Zombie fisherman

Fishing can already be a challenging way to make a living - it's even harder when you're a zombie.

The zombie fisherman animatronic is a 6.5-foot seafarer dressed in a weathered green ensemble of a frayed fisher's hat and jacket, undershirt and black pants. One arm ends in a barnacled hook that raises when he speaks.

Also called the "Tentacled Fisher of Souls" by Lowe's, the aptly-named fisherman's slack jaw exposes decaying teeth and two twisting tentacles erupting from his mouth. His eyes glow as they look out from his partially-decayed face smattered with barnacles.

The zombie fisherman's mouth, head and arm move as his voice lines try to lure you into the depths of the sea's darkness.

The 6.5-ft Haunted Harbor Talking LED Zombie Fisherman Animatronic sells online for $349.

Creepy captain

Someone has to take charge and captain a ship, even if everyone on it is undead.

The ghost captain is just that leader, steering at the helm despite his ghostly status. The 6-foot figure is stationed behind a massive ship wheel standing almost as tall as him, appropriately adorned with a skull.

The captain wears a grey fisherman's hat and trench coat, both covered in creeping green algae from an afterlife spent wandering the open sea. A long, grey beard hangs from his chin as both hands grip the steering wheel tightly. Flecks of decayed flesh are missing from his body and his empty eye sockets contain only a yellowish light glowing from within.

The ghost captain also emits an eerie blue light and his mouth and head move when he speaks. His arms move back and forth with the wheel as he pilots his ship into eternity.

The 6-ft Haunted Harbor Talking LED Steering Captain Animatronic sells online for $349.