Alameda 9-Year-Old Uses Claude AI to Build Talking Skeleton Display

A father-daughter Halloween coding project has turned a residential yard at the 3000 Block of Lincoln Avenue, Alameda, CA into one of the East Bay's most popular neighborhood stops, with Interviewed October 21, 2026 (Reported October 29, 2026) accounts documenting crowds gathering to converse with an AI-powered skeleton named "Uncle Murray".

Reprogramming a Home Depot Skeleton With Anthropic's Claude AI

As reported by Patch San Leandro journalist Fernando Haro (with neighborhood photography credited to Angelo Claure), the interactive figure was built by 9-year-old Nathalie Chabas and her father, Jim Chabas outside their home in the 3000 block of Lincoln Avenue in Alameda:

• From Adult Mixologist to Family-Friendly Scientist: Anthropic Claude AI reprogrammed Home Depot "John The Last Call Mixologist" skeleton hardware after the family initially purchased the prop at Home Depot, where it came named "John The Last Call Mixologist" and told adult jokes in an Irish accent. Wanting a welcoming, family-friendly neighborhood character instead, Nathalie and Jim spent several weeks working with Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence model to rewrite its software and persona.
• Book Inspiration & Costume Details: The transformed skeleton is Named after Uncle Murray from the book Bad Kitty vs Uncle Murray, one of Nathalie's favorite children's books. Standing in the front yard wearing a flannel shirt, an apron, fuzzy pink slippers, and a white scientist lab coat, Uncle Murray is wired to a push-button switch that activates real-time spoken conversations.

Greeting Up to 20 Visitors at a Time on Lincoln Avenue

Rather than delivering pre-recorded spooky lines, Uncle Murray is programmed as a friendly neighborhood scientist whose best friend is a pink dolphin named Bubbles:

• Remembering Returning Neighbors: When children and parents press the button to talk, Uncle Murray asks visitors for their names, compliments their Halloween costumes, tells lighthearted jokes, and remembers returning guests when they visit the 3000 block of Lincoln Avenue again.
• Community Response: Nathalie and Jim Chabas noted during their October 21, 2026 interview that the display has drawn Up to 20 visitors at a time pressing the push-button switch to chat, turning after-school walks along Lincoln Avenue into an interactive neighborhood gathering.