Halloween is coming up, which means that we will finally be able to enjoy pumpkins in forms other than just lattes. The legendary orange fruit — yes, that’s right — will make its way onto everyone’s porches.

Part of why it’s among the stars of the spooky occasion is its versatility. So no matter if you’re a passionate craftsperson or a curious beginner, Bored Panda compiled a list of the most creative Halloween pumpkin carvings that should inspire you to pick up the knife.

Continue scrolling to see all the beloved fictional character portraits, creepy spiders, and even famous painting reproductions!

#1 “Euphoric Frankenstein”

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#2 We Did Some Pumpkin Carving Last Night So Of Course I Had To Make A PUMPkin

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Sadly, Halloween pumpkins are also synonymous with waste. For example, a 2020 poll of 3,000 adults in the UK, carried out by the food charity Hubbub, revealed that of the 24 million pumpkins bought, around 12.76 million are carved without the flesh being used.

Hubbub has warned this adds to the country’s mountain of avoidable food waste and is urging consumers to experiment with new recipes.

#3 My Pumpkin Carving For This Year, Happy Halloween

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#4 Another Day, Another Scream

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#5 Halloween Is Upon Us! Happy October, All. It’s Actually Kind Of Remarkable What A Good Sculpture Medium Pumpkin Can Be

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“Pumpkins are a valuable source of food and are not just for decoration,” said Tessa Tricks, the head of food programmes at Hubbub.

“Even if it’s labelled a carving pumpkin, you can still eat it and it will taste delicious with spices like chilli, ginger or cumin.”

#6 This Was One Of My Favorites At Last Year’s Trail Of Carved Pumpkins Hosted By My Local Zoo. There Were Roughly 5000 Carved Pumpkins Along The Trail, And It Was Such A Magical Night

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#7 I Thought I’d Kick Off My Halloween Pumpkin Pics With This Handy Fella

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#8 First Time Going 4 Pumpkins Tall. What Do You All Think?

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In the West, pumpkins may be the main ingredient in a traditional holiday pie, but their true value lies in their nutritional and medicinal benefits.

Rich in various essential nutrients and relatively easy to grow, this hardy, drought-tolerant crop is often underrated.

It contains antioxidants that help prevent various cancers. Nutrient-dense but with a low-calorie count, this water-rich fruit is a great source of Vitamin A. The fruit is also rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and folate all of which strengthen our immune systems.

#9 Mario With Bowser Projection

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#10 This Is A Crescent City House Of Flame And Shadow I Carved For My Girlfriend

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#11 Shocked Goblin

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A 2021 study from the University of Putra, Malaysia, called pumpkins a “revolutionary age crop”, adding it is a “balanced food, and more adapted to low soil and atmospheric circumstances than other major crops.”

#12 I Carved Pumpkin Puppers

I try to carve 1-2 pumpkins as an annual tradition. This year I carved my sister's dog Axton (left) and my dog Orvi. They both are Australian Cattle Dogs. They are carved into a 19" and 15" diameter Funkin brand foam pumpkin so we can put them out every year. Happy Halloween!

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#13 The Tank Is Surrounded By 2 Other Pumpkins, Sealing The Unlucky Pumpkin Inside! We Made This For A Hospital. Hopefully, The Patients Will Get Some Enjoyment From It

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#14 That’s Next Level

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As they’re so full of vitamins and nutrients, they’re an ideal crop to grow in regions where nutritional food is hard to come by. “Pumpkin fruits are important sources of essential vitamins, minerals, and fats, especially in developing countries,” said Sarah Hind, an assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US.

Pumpkin seeds have a high magnesium content, and they also contain tryptophan, an amino acid needed for growth in infants, and maintenance of the body’s muscles and proteins.

#15 This Pumpkin Will Leave You In Anticipation. I Just Finished This Carving Of Frank-N-Furter On A 9-Inch Foam Pumpkin

This was carved using various rotary bits, X-ACTO blades, and some light sandpaper. These pumpkins were from the year after Joann stopped selling Funkins and started to make their own similar style. I prefer Funkins due to their wall thickness and more natural-looking shape. These foamkins carve well, but their shape is hard to work with for portraits. Their circumference is oval-shaped, with a wider carved face on the side with the seam running right through it. I misjudged where I placed my reference photo and ended up having that seam run right through it. I think it still looks good, but the lesson is learned.

Image credits: babysmash3r

#16 I Carved A Pumpkin Inspired By The Movie “Mars Attacks!”

I recently finished this carve of Lisa Marie’s Martian imposter girl character from Mars Attacks! This was hand-carved on a 13” foam pumpkin using X-acto knives, a variety of rotary bits, and a few pointy things.

This model of foam pumpkin is one of the “Time & Place” pumpkins from Joann from a few years back as they were transitioning away from Funkins. These particular pumpkins were honestly kind of bad to carve when I first bought them. The skin would peel off really easily, which made it difficult to get tiny details of high contrast. However, a few years of sitting in my attic seems to have done the trick. These are much better now. Who knew curing foam pumpkins was a thing?

Image credits: babysmash3r

#17 It’s Time! “Eye Of The Storm”

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The aforementioned research from Hubbub also suggested that after Halloween, 2 million of the discarded pumpkins in the UK will end up in general household bins. Therefore, people who can’t find any use for theirs are advised to compost their carved pumpkins, put them out for birds, or dispose of them in the food waste collection.

#18 My Little Crawlers. I Liked The Cute Little Baby Ones I Did Too

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#19 My Pumpkin Carving This Year. Happy Halloween

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#20 I Woke Up, Drove To The Farm, Went Home, And Started Carving. This Is Who Looked Back At Me When I Finished

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Halloween is big. In 2024, American consumers are expected to spend around 11.6 billion U.S. dollars on the occasion, including nearly 4 billion on costumes and outfits alone. It would also be nice to save something as well.

#21 Happy Halloween! Voldemort For Today

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#22 A Ton Of Work

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#23 I Decided It Would Still Look Pretty Cool If I Stuck A Couple Of Ears On It

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#24 This Is The First Time I Have Ever Painted A Pumpkin

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#25 Frog King

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#26 Moon Landing

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#27 Halloween Pumpkins That I Made

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#28 My Pumpkin Is Done

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#29 Here Is SpongeBob From One Of My Carvings

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#30 Chunky

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#31 My First Time Trying Sculptural Pumpkin Carving

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#32 Not A Painting, No Photoshop. This Is A Real Pumpkin Carving. Happy Halloween

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#33 Made A Scary Pumpkin Carving, Apparently Too Scary. The Kids Banned It From The House

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#34 This Pumpkin Burger That I Saw

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#35 Quick Pumpkin I Did Today

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#36 The Details Are Breathtaking

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#37 October Fridges Be Looking Like

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#38 My Painted Pumpkins

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#39 Check Out These Incredible Entries From Our Children’s Pumpkin Carving Competition This Past Weekend

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#40 Jimmy-O-Lantern

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#41 Halloween Pumpkin Decorating Contest

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#42 Even The Grinch Can’t Say No To Spooky Season

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#43 Another Fun Pumpkin I Made Today

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#44 I Have No Caption For This One. He Looks Like He Has Questions

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#45 Pumpkin I Did Today

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#46 My Kid’s Elementary School Had A Pumpkin Decorating Contest. I Was Very Impressed With The Creativity. Here Are Some Of My Favorites

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#47 I Made A Pumpkin Cottage Today. I Used Foraged Materials (Except Candles, Paint, And Hot Glue)

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#48 Check Out How These Pumpkins Have Progressed Over The Years. Do You Have A Favorite?

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#49 Should I Add One More On Each Leg? This Is For Pumpkin Contest At Work

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#50 My Attempt At The Eyeball Pumpkin

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#51 First-Dimensional Carving Of The Season

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#52 Carved This Pumpkin Yesterday

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#53 “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” Carved Pumpkin With A Show’s Name

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#54 My Captain Spaulding Pumpkin Carving From Last Year

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#55 My Pumpkin For This Halloween, Nymphaeaceae Crypsis. It Took 20 Hours

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#56 We Aren’t Participating In Halloween This Year Due To COVID, I Present You My Pumpkins From Last Year

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#57 Kids And I Spent A Few Days Carving. My Daughter (11) And Son (8) Carved Their Own Pumpkins For The First Time. Usually They Just Come Up With Ideas For Me To Try And Execute. Fun Time

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#58 Happy Halloween

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#59 I’m Really Proud Of This One. I Was Inspired By Audrey 2. Sad I Couldn’t Find A Green One This Year, But I’m Still Really Happy With It

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#60 My Halloween Pumpkin

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#61 The Pumpkin I Carved Last Year! The Beast Is Carved In The Back To Throw The Shadow

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#62 Hope You Guys Like My Stranger Things Pumpkin Carving I Did This Year! Happy Halloween

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#63 Got Inspired And Wanted To Give It A Shot At Pumpkin Carving! How’d I Do?

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#64 The Brothers Peverell. Hand-Carved Pumpkin

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#65 Happy Halloween

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#66 This Year’s Pumpkin

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#67 Carving Of Norman

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#68 Vampire Teeth Pumpkin. Teeth Carved Into A Natural Pumpkin Using A Stoneykins Pattern

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#69 Here’s A Pumpkin Carving I Did A Few Years Back

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#70 My Gourgeist Pumpkin Won 1st Place In Our Work Pumpkin Contest

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#71 Some Pumpkin I’ve Done So Far

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#72 My Pumpkin Is Eating A Smaller Pumpkin

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#73 The Pumpkins My Girlfriend And I Carved This Year

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#74 Keeping Blood Sugars And Spooky Vibes In Check

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#75 Audrey III Golf Edition. The Private Country Club I Work At Had An Employee Contest. I Entered Today. I Hope It’s A Winner

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#76 My Friend Decided To Do A Breaking Bad Pumpkin Last Year. I Still Think It Is The Best I’ve Seen (Season 4 Spoiler)

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#77 My Pumpkin Carving

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#78 My Wife’s And Mine

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#79 Pennywise, The Tim Curry Pumpkin Made By Me

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#80 Abstract Picasso Cut-Out On Living Pumpkin

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#81 I Finally Carved My First Pumpkin At 25. I’m Very Proud Of Him

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#82 Exceptional Design

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#83 “Yours, Cruelly,” Elvira Pumpkin. This Portrait Of Cassandra Peterson Was Hand Carved On A Modified “Commander” Style Funkins Brand Foam Pumpkin

It’s the largest foamkin I’ve ever done. Minus the stem, it’s about 22” tall.
While the pumpkin shell itself was pretty thick for a foam pumpkin, the texture of this foam was pretty light, similar to Funkin's “Natiello” models. That means because of the foam's low density you don’t need to carve very deep to bring out the light. However, it makes it more difficult to get richer and darker shades like you would with something like a Boland model Funkin that is more dense. The foam thickness was also a little inconsistent, like thin in some spots but thicker in others. Thankfully that didn’t interfere with my design too much, but it did make it harder to get more realistic shading in places like her hands.
The whole carving took about maybe 12-16 hours over the course of a week and was carved with various rotary bits, X-ACTO knives, and other pointy things. I hope you like it!