Top Ten Ways to Improve Your Jack-o'-lantern

After candy and costume parties, the best part of Halloween, for me, has to be designing and carving a Jack-o'-lantern. Every year, as fun as it is to see so many assorted, lit-up pumpkin faces in windows and on porches, couldn't some of the designs be a little more, well... inspired? Instead of carving out the usual Oogly-Boogly face this year, why not be a little more creative and make your pumpkin stand out! Here's the top ten ideas for a new and improved jack-o-lantern:

10. Colored Lights

Image Source: Robot Room

A simple candle may be classic, but a colored light source can add an eerie effect. At the very least, it's a simple way to make your pumpkin stand out. The right color could even complement your design (glowing red eyes?). There's other non-standard lighting ideas you could consider too (strobe light pumpkin? black light pumpkin?). You can find these kind of lights at pumpkinlights.com (wow, the Internet is really comprehensive.)


9. Painted Pumpkin

Image Source: Julevision

If your pumpkin is for an office Halloween party, or for some setting where it won't have the chance to be lit up, painting it instead of carving it might be the way to go. It's certainly the less messy way to go. Let's be honest though, without carving, it's not really a jack-o-lantern, and you fail at Halloween.

8. External Additions

Image Source: Mr_Stein

Seeds & scrap pieces need not go to waste, and your jack-o'-lantern need not be constrained by its natural symmetry. Scrap pumpkin can make protruding horns, arms, genitalia -- you name it.


7. Pumpkin Gore

Image Source: betseymaebite

The inside of a pumpkin can be gross and, well, scary. What an opportunity to include a little extra fright into a design! The pumpkin guts work well for vomit (pictured above), as it does for gun shot wound gore and brain goo.



6. Skin Deep Carving

Image Source: Bob Zimmerman

Instead of carving all the way through the pumpkin wall, thinning the wall and removing the skin can make some cool effects. Shading using different wall thicknesses for different areas can also be achieved. Just make sure you have a strong light source.



5. Squash Switch-a-roo

Image Source: Joel

If you want a unique shape or color, why not carve one of many different varieties of squash? Loads of interesting designs could take advantage of this (green and wart covered witch or troll?) Yes, this is cheating too, but it's still not as bad as painting on a design.




4. Pumpkin Sculpting

Image Source: Villafane Studios

If you are really skilled and ambitious, you could actually sculpt the flesh of your pumpkin. Assuming you manage to finish the job before your pumpkin rots, this could be the most rewarding experience of your October (or life). Many more pro examples of this @ Villafane.


3. Stem-tacular

Image Source: Fidgital

Incorporating the stem into the design can be an interesting twist on the usual jack-o'-lantern. For that matter, the bottom of the pumpkin or the creases might be creatively employed. Work with what ya got.

2. Complementing Designs

Image Source: Crystal

Multiple pumpkins all involved in the same design can make for a clever Halloween decoration. Making jack-o'-lanterns interact is limitless, or if you are really ambitious, you could set up an entire scene. Pumpkin Hamlet anyone?

1. Pumpkin Torch

Image Source: Geekus

Topping the list, engulfing the entire freaking jack-o'-lantern in flames. How bad ass is that? Sure it probably shortens the lifespan of your orange little friend, but it certainly makes a statement.