How to Carve a Spooky Halloween Design in a Pumpkin

Halloween would not be complete without a spooky pumpkin leering eerily from your porch, or at least your front window if your neighborhood kids are inclined to smash things on your porch. You can carve a spooky pumpkin with a little gory imagination and few simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pumpkin
• Pencil
• Pumpkin carving knife

1. Find an a spooky design. You can look online for “spooky faces,” base it on your favorite villain or create your own.

2. Designs can be created by breaking down the eyes, nose and mouth. Eyes should be evil and slanted down from the top outside corner to the bottom inner corner, the nose should be very small as not to distract from the exciting eyes and mouth, and a large, leering mouth with lots of sharp teeth rounds out the mix.

3. Briefly sketch the design on paper to get a feel for the dimensions.

4. Translate your sketch to the pumpkin using a pencil so you can erase any extra lines.

5. Carve away!

Tips & Warnings

• Put a candle in the pumpkin to add to its spookiness. If you are afraid of fire, you can find battery operated candles for better safety.
• Keep in mind the bottom of the pumpkin is not easily visible so put the mouth higher than you think it should go.
• Make sure your design translate well to a pumpkin. Lots of little squiggly lines just won’t cut it. If your design is complicated, downplay it to make it very simple.

Resources

• Pumpkin Carving Patterns