The origins of the carved pumpkin (or jack-o’-lantern) are nearly as spooky as Halloween itself. The lights, if certain tales are to be believed, represent or were inspired by the will-o'-wisp, a creature out of European folklore. This creature or spirit, depending on which interpretation one goes by, can be “found” at night, trying to lure people off of paths. 

After leading a person into a marsh or other remote, wild area, it disappears, leaving them lost. As per usual in European folklore, spirits, and creatures of the night are seldom around to help us humans. While the jack-o’-lantern isn’t exactly the same thing, its lights are supposed to represent these spirits. 

While the pumpkin is currently the undisputed king of carved vegetables, in the past it was common to also use turnips and even rutabaga to make faces. These faces and “lanterns” were used to ward off evil spirits at the spooky time of year, although in some cases they would also represent said spirits, so it seems that different people had different relationships with the spirits. 

While the tradition originated in the British Isles, the actual pumpkin is a vegetable from the Americas. So it’s not surprising that the first mentions of a carved pumpkin in North America go all the way back to 1837. However, at the time, it was more a celebration of the harvest than anything to do with Halloween or spirits, evil and benign. 

It would only be a few decades later when Americans would start to associate the carved and candle’d pumpkin with Halloween. Given that Halloween and the harvest aren’t that far apart, the connection seems pretty easy to make. After all, you can't have an abundance of pumpkins to carve without a harvest. 

Since the 1860s, the craft of carving pumpkins has only expanded, as well as the actual size of canvas. Just recently, the record for the world’s heaviest pumpkin was broken again by Travis Gienger, with a 1,226 kg (2,702 lb) pumpkin named “Michal Jordan.” One can imagine a skilled pumpkin carver looking at this massive “canvas” and being overwhelmed by the possibilities. 

Certain North American towns take their pumpkin carving very, very seriously. For example, the inhabitants of Keene in New Hampshire worked together to carve, light up, and display a staggering 30,581 pumpkins in 2013, setting a new world record. While the individual quality of the pumpkins is questionable, there is no denying that quantity has a quality of its own. 

The art of pumpkin carving has expanded alongside technology. While in the past, people would be limited to candles or perhaps lanterns, access to better, more consistent lights now allow people to work with light like never before. At the same time, more accessible tools allow people to make more intricate carvings. 

Add in paint, glitter, stencils, and other extras and a committed carver can turn a pumpkin into almost anything. As you can see in this list, some pumpkins, for better or worse, have strayed so far from their original form that they more resemble sculptures than anything else. 

It’s arguable that this has created a sort of pumpkin art escalation, as creatives vie with each other to see who is going to do something different with a pumpkin. Some don’t even bother with lights and instead treat the outer skin of the pumpkin as a sort of canvas, a sentence that out of context sounds as spooky as Halloween itself. 

Regardless, every fall, we are treated to a bountiful harvest of cool and creative pumpkin art. So if you feel like seeing more, Bored Panda has got you covered. Check out our articles on expert-level pumpkin carving and our list from 2021 with some of the most eye-catching pumpkin-based art out there.