The Caterpillar

Form a chain of pumpkins with carved spots, stripes, or other simple designs and a carved caterpillar “face” at the head. A string of pumpkin or low-heat lights will be perfect for lighting up a curved and twisting caterpillar on your porch or stoop.

Totem Pole

Stack your carved pumpkin faces into a totem pole lit with jar candles, touch lights, or a string of pumpkin lights inserted through holes in the back. Each face or front design can be unique — for a creative touch, consider the animal designs favored in ancient totem poles or try out your own silly or scary designs — how about the scariest characters from classic horror films?

Chain of Heads

A variety of different faces and ghoulish expressions are perfect for creating a long row of lanterns to line your porch, deck, or steps. Whether you carve cartoon characters, shrunken heads, or simple the standard Jack O’ Lantern faces, a row of grinning pumpkins on your porch is sure to produce a few compliments. For an extra unique touch: carve large selections from White Lumos pumpkins with “skull” faces for a Halloween pirate scene.

The variety of faces, details, and designs you can create are limited only to your imagination. Enjoy showing off your pumpkin harvest in a stellar Jack O’ Lantern extravaganza this Halloween.

Cool Colors

Medium-sized pumpkins, like the ghostly blue-grey Jarrahdale, are an exotic choice for ambitious carvers or pumpkin enthusiasts, while mini-ghostly favorites Baby Boos are miniature pale white pumpkins popular for handpainting at Halloween.

For a stripey mini pumpkin perfect for painting, a Turk’s Cap pumpkin features a turban-like top striped red and white. Experienced or adventurous carvers can cut and lift the “cap”, scrape clean inside, then carve and add a light for a tiny lantern.

Weird Choices

For a small size, try the strange and warty heirloom variety known as the Turner Family pumpkin, perfect for “deformed” jack o’ lantern faces. The unusual Fortna pumpkin is pear-shaped and white — perfect for carving or painting “ghosts”.

American Tonda features the traditional orange skin but with vertical green stripes along the pumpkin’s “ribbing”.

Giant Size

For a traditional jack o’ lantern giant, Big Max grows huge pumpkins which can exceed one hundred pounds. The bright orange flesh resembles the standard Halloween pumpkin choice.

For unusual giants, try the rare heirloom choice known as the Mammoth Chile. With potential weight of one hundred pounds, the pumpkins featuring a pinky-orange skin with a mottled pattern.

An unusual jack o’ lantern can create quite a display in your window or on your porch this fall. Show off your green thumb (and your unique taste) with a few exotic varieties in your garden.