Pumpkin carving is what you make of it. It’s a fun (family) activity that helps you get into the Halloween spirit and is a great way to express your creativity, too.
The best thing about it is the freedom: you can go for something playful like your favorite meme, or a scary zombie, it’s all up to you.
To give you a better idea of what’s possible, we at We compiled a list of our favorite jack-o’-lanterns. Enjoy!
#1 My Friend Is Awesome At Carving Pumpkins
#2 Luigi’s Mansion Pumpkin
This Halloween practice originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as early canvasses. In fact, the very name, jack-o’-lantern, comes from an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of the spooky celebration.
According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. Remaining true to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his glass, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to pay for their order. But when the Devil obliged, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which would prevent the Devil from going back to his original form.
Jack eventually freed the Devil, but under the condition that he would not bother Jack for a whole year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.
#3 I Carved A Pumpkin
#4 I Work In An Animation Studio With Some Of The Best Artists I’ve Ever Met And This Is The Pumpkin That Won Our Carving Contest Yesterday
#5 My Husband’s Pumpkin Carving
The next year, Jack tricked the Devil again. This time, by making him climb into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down. Now, the Devil had to promise not to bother Jack for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend has it, God didn’t allow such an unsavory individual into heaven. But the Devil, who was still upset by the tricks Jack had played on him, kept his word and didn’t claim Jack’s soul.
So since Jack couldn’t enter hell either, he ended up in the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since, thus earning the name “Jack of the Lantern,” and later, simply “Jack O’Lantern.”
#6 Someone Got The Pumpkins Right
#7 The Collector
#8 My 16-Year-Old Niece’s Halloween Pumpkin Carving
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns, carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them near windows or doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other evil spirits that might’ve also been wandering the night. In England, people used large beets.
Immigrants from these countries brought the tradition with them when they came to the US and soon discovered that pumpkins, a fruit native to their new home, makeperfect jack-o’-lanterns.
#9 Peter Peter The Pumpkin Eater
#10 My Wife Won Her Office Pumpkin Decorating Contest After 5 Years Of Disappointment
#11 I Carved A Dog-O-Lantern
#12 My Sister Carved A Pumpkin Again
#13 So My Friend Won A Pumpkin Carving Contest With This
#14 My Friend Carves The Best Pumpkins, Half Of My Halloween Excitement Is Waiting To See What He’s Come Up With, Here Is This Year’s
#15 Darling, It Will Be Bold. Dramatic
#16 My 2014 Pumpkins: Harry vs. Voldemort
#17 Gandalf vs. Balrog Pumpkin Carving “You Shall Not Paaaasss”
#18 Unbelievable Viking Pumpkin
#19 I Present The Trumpkin, 16 Hours, 56lbs, Three Pumpkins
#20 I Carved This For Halloween. Expecto Pumpkin
#21 I Carved It From Pumpkins
#22 My Pumpkin Scares The Hell Out Of Me
#23 Smashing Pumpkins
#24 My Pumpkin Carving This Year
#25 Anglerfish Pumpkin
#26 My Little Sister’s First Attempt At Pumpkin Carving. Her Talent Makes Me Sick Sometimes
#27 Pumpkin Graveyard
#28 Just Finished Decorating Our Annual Scary Pumpkin
#29 Tonight, I Carved A Pumpkin. I Also Doused It In Lighter Fluid And Lit It On Fire
#30 My Aunt Had A Pumpkin Contest At Work. Safe To Say She Won
#31 I Just Finished My Pumpkin Carving. “The Mad Titan, Thanos”
#32 For My Birthday, I Wanted To Show You Guys My Pumpkin
#33 We Still Have This Small Pumpkin My Wife Carved 3 Years Ago
#34 When You Don’t Know What To Carve – Star Wars
#35 My Pumpkins For Halloween This Year
#36 The Perfect Jack O’Lantern Doesn’t Exist…
#37 My Wife’s Contribution For The Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest
#38 Am I Spooky Yet?
#39 My Work Friend Carved This In Our Annual Work Pumpkin Carving Contest, It Was His First Pumpkin And It Took Him 10 Hours
#40 It’s Pumpkin Carving Season
#41 I Carved The Scariest Pumpkin I Could Imagine
#42 Entry For My Work’s Pumpkin Decorating Contest
#43 This Welding Pumpkin
#44 Johnny Depp Pumpkin
#45 One Of The Cooler Pumpkins Carvings I’ve Seen
#46 I’ve Outdone Myself This Year
#47 The Rosetta Stone Carved Into A Pumpkin
#48 Proud Of My Submission For The Office Pumpkin Decorating Contest Today
#49 Is My Rick And Morty Pumpkin Worthy Of Your Praise?
#50 We Made This For A Pumpkin Decorating Contest At Work
