Ring adds Halloween-themed quick replies to its doorbell cameras

Following in the now annual tradition of the spooky smart home, Ring has released its seasonal ding dongs. In honor of the festive season, you can turn your Ring Video Doorbell’s interior Chime’s tone to a screeching cat, a creaky door, or my personal favorite, the creepy laugh, for the month of October. There are a handful of other scary tones also, nine in total, which is eight more than Google is offering on its Nest doorbell.

To up the spooky ante this year, Ring has a new trick as an extra treat: a selection of Halloween-themed Quick Replies, a free feature that lets your doorbell answer for you. Now, when a visitor presses the Ring buzzer, it can talk back to them with these additions to the standard preset responses:

“Tell us what brings you here…or we’ll put a spell on you!”

“Boo! Leave us a message if you dare [evil laugh].”

“Just a minute! Feel free to park your broom.”

“Please leave the package (and any hocus pocus) outside.

Personally, I’d like one that says, “All the candy is gone, move along now.”

Billed by Ring as the busiest doorbell day of the year, Halloween is definitely a day when a video doorbell shines. I’ve had hours of fun scaring trick or treaters — or UPS delivery drivers — in years past when the seasonal tones roll around. (Pro tip: plug the Chime in right by the front door, as the ringtone on the doorbell itself doesn’t change). Although, sadly, it seems the scare factor is wearing off somewhat as doorbell cameras become more ubiquitous.

However, the new Quick Replies come right from the doorbell itself, not through the Ring Chime, so they might have a bit more of fright factor. These launched today (the ringtones arrived in mid-September) and will be replaced by winter holiday-themed options at the end of this month.

The Quick Replies feature is available on all Ring doorbells other than the base model Ring Video Doorbell Wired. If you have a Ring Protect Plan, you can use it as an answering machine and view the recorded video and audio of the visitor in the app, but you don’t need a subscription for the replies themselves. You set up Quick Replies in the Ring App, which is also where you can change the ringtone on your Chime.

If you (or your neighborhood) really get into the Halloween spirit, Ring is also releasing seasonal faceplates for the Ring Video Doorbell 2, 3, 3 Plus, and 4, which cost $14.99 each from the Ring.com store. Choose from a spooky design with bats and spiderwebs, or opt for something less scary and more festive and fun, like pumpkins and leaves.