Pumpkin Takeover
Midnight on Halloween. Everything turns orange.
Open in Safari on your iPhone. Download the file, open it from Safari Downloads or Files, then follow the prompts to add it in Shortcuts.
What happens
At midnight on October 31st they get a jack-o’-lantern wallpaper and dark mode, and a voice cackles once. Every other night the shortcut checks the date and does nothing.
Setup
- Open this page in Safari on the iPhone, download the file (or AirDrop it), open it from Safari Downloads or Files, and tap Add Shortcut.
- Long-press it in Shortcuts → All Shortcuts → Rename and call it Pumpkin Patch, so it doesn’t give itself away.
- A normal run does nothing outside October 31. For a real setup test, open the … editor, temporarily change the date comparison
10-31to today’s MM-DD, run while unlocked and choose Always Allow where offered, then restore10-31. Check the wallpaper, appearance and sound. In Set Wallpaper, select a photo wallpaper target if iOS requires one. Restore the original wallpaper and appearance after the test if you want the change saved for Halloween. - Shortcuts → Automation → + → Time of Day, set 12:00 AM, Monthly on day 31, select Run Immediately, tap Next and choose the shortcut.
Undo
Open Shortcuts → Automation, swipe left on the automation and tap Delete. Then delete the shortcut. Set their wallpaper back from Settings → Wallpaper, and restore their usual appearance under Settings → Display & Brightness. Restore media volume and audio output in Control Center.
Test the trigger
Installing the file does not create its automation. After the manual test, trigger the event once and check the result. If the shortcut picker is unavailable, create a blank automation, add Run Shortcut, and select this shortcut. Menus, previews and app-opening actions may still need interaction or an unlocked phone even with Run Immediately selected. If it stops, run from the shortcut’s … editor to identify the failing action.