How to Make Zombie Pumpkins

Decorate a pumpkin to look like one of the living dead.

Skip the same old triangle-eyed jack-o'-lantern this year and opt for something a little more spooky and creative. Zombies are pop culture icons and make compelling and fun Halloween costumes, so extend their inspiration to pumpkins, too. Carving is optional if you'd rather use paint alone to decorate your pumpkin, and may lessen the hassle of creating a pumpkin creature. Use pumpkins of different sizes to create a zombie family.

Things You'll Need

• Pumpkins
• Acrylic paint
• Paintbrushes
• Plastic eyeballs
• Hot glue gun
• Sharp knife
• Permanent marker or paint pen
• Glitter glue

Instructions

1. Paint the pumpkin. For a creepy zombie, use green or purple acrylic paint to make the entire pumpkin a gory zombie head. Allow the paints to dry before embellishing the pumpkin further. If you don't want to paint an entire pumpkin, purchase a green or white pumpkin as it is and use that.

2. Make tired zombie eyes by hot gluing round, bloodshot eyeballs to the pumpkin. These can also be inserted into the pumpkin by carving two small holes with a sharp knife and poking the eyes into the holes if you don't have a hot glue gun. Make the zombie's eyes lopsided or different sizes if possible.

3. Add some zombie facial features with a black permanent marker or paint pens of various colors. Draw some lines with stitches to create zombie scars and some lines around the eyes. Use red paint or paint pen to draw oozing, bloody wounds and some blood dripping out of the zombie's mouth, which can also be drawn on with black paint or marker. The mouth should be open, gaping and lopsided.

4. Add something extra to the zombie pumpkin by highlighting its features with glitter glue pens. Use dark colors for the stitches and wounds, and bright red for the blood for a shimmery decorated zombie.

References

• Family Fun: Painted Pumpkins
• Martha Stewart: Zombie Pumpkins