90 Scary Easy Carving Ideas for Your Best Halloween Pumpkin Ever (2024)

90 Scary Easy Carving Ideas for Your Best Halloween Pumpkin Ever (1)

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One of the greatest and most iconic traditions of Halloween is pumpkin carving. After a day at the pumpkin patch, there’s nothing greater than coming home, washing your haul of pumpkins, and carving a fun design into one or more of them to adorn your porch, entryway, or other outdoor Halloween decoration area. This is a Halloween activity that can be celebrated by a vast range of ages — though youngins may need help and supervision when it comes to wielding the carving knife. If you’re looking for inspiration for decorating this year’s jack-o’-lantern, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together 90 pumpkin carving ideas, from easy to difficult, small to large, and sweet to scary that’ll tickle any itch you have for this year’s jack-o’-lantern design.

Many of these cool pumpkin carving ideas incorporate Halloween decor and household items you likely already own, making them ideal for cheap crafting. While carving, you can stick to the traditional route with pumpkin face ideas, or you can branch out and carve a scene, shape, or word — the options are endless.

For more pumpkin decorating ideas, make sure to check out our list of painted pumpkin ideas, simple Halloween crafts, and free printable pumpkin stencils next.

1

Something Wicked This Way Comes

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You can't go wrong with an oh-so-classic witch when pumpkin decorating. For this spin on the Wicked Witch of the West, hollow out your pumpkin from the bottom. Then, carve eyes and a mouth around the stem, using it as the witch's nose. Decorate the pumpkin with a witch's hat and jumbo green chenille pipe cleaners for hair. Hot glue the hair in place to ensure it stays put.

SHOP JUMBO GREEN PIPE CLEANERS

2

Teen Scream Pumpkin

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Amidst the witches and ghosts of Halloween, don't forget about another spooky mainstay — Count Dracula. To recreate this nailbiting design, download the Teen Scream stencil, print, trace, and carve.

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3

Floating Ghosts

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For this ensemble of pumpkins, buy three pumpkins in various sizes. Hollow each from the bottom, carving out large window-like shapes on the front of each pumpkin. Create a frame for each window using black-painted balsa wood sheets.

For the ghosts, bend 12-gauge aluminum wire in a ghost-like shape, leaving excess wire on each end to stake into the pumpkin. Drape cheesecloth over the wires and spray with liquid spray starch. Finish the ghosts off with faces cut out of black construction paper.

SHOP LIQUID SPRAY STARCH

RELATED: Best DIY Halloween Decorations You Can Pull Together Scary Quick

4

Dirty Duo

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Trouble comes in twos with this Dirty Duo cat stencil that features two scowling cats, offering a scary-but-not-too-scary pumpkin carving idea ideal for kids.

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5

Heavy Metal

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Create two metal heads by carving a face into each pumpkin. Then, adorn each with various pieces of scrap metal. This could include nuts, bolts, screws, faucets, doorbells — whatever you have lying around is fine to use! For the spiky hair, cut and poke medium-sized pieces of wire into the top of a pumpkin's head. For a curly-haired look, wrap the wire around a pen before poking.

6

Boo to You Pumpkin

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Impress neighbors not only with a ghoulish shape but also with carved letters in this double-whammy pumpkin carving idea. Trace the image beforehand with the Boo to You stencil, and carve it to your liking.

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7

Succulent Sensation

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Opt for a friendly Halloween character with this joyful, succulent jack-o'-lantern. To make, gut the pumpkin from the back. Cover the pumpkin stem with a small terracotta planter, and stuff it with dangling succulents. Attach two air plants above the open, carved mouth using headpins. Similarly, attach cactus pads along the mouth opening using headpins for a toothy grin. Continue to embellish the pumpkin to your liking using other succulents, plants, and headpins.

8

Hobgoblin Pumpkin

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If you take a classic jack-o'-lantern face and turn it up a few notches, this is what you'll get. A scarily sinister smile to frighten and delight passersby. Download the Hobgoblin stencil to recreate it.

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9

Die-orama Pumpkin

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Similar to a mini nook or set, this pumpkin carving idea showcases a spooky graveyard scene with tombstones, miniature skeleton figurines, tiny bats, and more. To recreate, clean out the pumpkin innards from the back. Mark a rectangular opening on the front of the pumpkin using painter's tape. With a chalk pen, outline each tombstone. Cut out the rectangular opening, leaving the outline of the headstones.

To embellish the scene, add faux moss and miniature skeletons. Then, hang small bats using a thin wire.

10

Urn-est Pumpkins

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Use pieces you likely already own to make this towering pumpkin statue. It's a great indoor or outdoor entryway piece. Stack pumpkins on top of a plant pot or urn, creating a comfortable bed for the pumpkins to sit on using faux leaves, straw, hay, or whatever else you may already own.

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11

Little Miss Curlicue

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Bulging eyes make it extra creepy! Make eyeballs out of turnips: Slice one side flat and insert thumbtacks for the pupils. Onto a squash or gourd, trace eyeballs. Hollow tracings with a melon baller, then secure eyeballs inside with toothpicks. Carve a mouth. For brows, wrap wet corn husk strips around a pencil; let dry. Secure both with straight pins. Rest squash on top of a flat gourd flipped upside-down.

SHOP CORN HUSKS

12

A Smooch for You

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Carve a happy Halloween couple! Draw and carve lovey-dovey faces on this duo, and save some of the rind from the larger pumpkin's mouth to create the partner's 3D pout. Lightly scrape in lines for eyelashes, eyebrows, and lips.

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13

Jester Pumpkin

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Play around with paint and shapes! Spray paint your pumpkin with white paint: let dry. Using the crevices of the pumpkin as a guide, scrape diamonds of various sizes around the pumpkin.

14

Batty Pumpkin

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Instead of carving a bat into a pumpkin, use the negative space around it to showcase its batty shape. Download the bat template, print, trace, and carve out your design.

RELATED: Free Printable Pumpkin Stencils for Your Best Jack-o'-Lantern Ever

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15

Eyes Wide Shut

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A fun-shaped mouth is what makes this pumpkin! Carve a squiggly mouth into a hollowed-out pumpkin. For eyes, hot glue plastic Easter egg halves to the stem. Cut pupils from black and white craft paper; hot glue in place.

16

Eyes On Me Pumpkin

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The more eyes, the better! Using a melon baller, carve eye cavities for the radishes. Cut off one end of each radish to expose the white inside. Insert a bean into the white to make a pupil. Secure the radishes into place with a toothpick; carve a mouth.

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17

Witch Legs Pumpkin

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Go for an out-of-the-box design with this witch's legs stencil. Bonus points if you accompany the pumpkin with a broom!

18

Fantastic Fox

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Incorporate several pumpkins into your Halloween design. Use an oval-shaped variegated squash for the body, a round orange pumpkin for the head, and a bell-shaped gourd for the tail. Attach them with skewers, centering the stem of the pumpkin as the nose. Etch out a smile and hollow holes for eyes. Layer a small acorn bottom inside a large acorn top as eyeballs: glue in place. Quarter a small pumpkin for feet, gluing on pumpkin seeds as claws; use the rest to cut out pointy ears. Attach all to the body with skewers.

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19

Whale of a Time

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Did someone say table decor? A tall pumpkin works best for this guy: Slice off the bottom third and carve the tail out of it. Cut a simple, smiley face in the larger section. Pop off the stem and attach it, upside-down, as a spout.

20

Pumpkin Cooler

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Did you know a pumpkin can double as a DIY cooler? Scoop out the insides of a pumpkin and fill it with ice. Bury your bottles in the ice to keep them cool.

RELATED: Fun and Spooky Halloween Party Ideas That'll Save You Money

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Lauren Matthews

Group Executive Digital Content Director

Lauren (she/her) is the executive digital content director of the Hearst Lifestyle Group, where she oversees online content and strategy for Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day and other Hearst titles, including SEO, video, social media and e-commerce efforts. She has almost 20 years of experience writing and editing beauty, lifestyle, home, health, entertainment and product review content. She graduated from NYU with a degree in journalism and history.

90 Scary Easy Carving Ideas for Your Best Halloween Pumpkin Ever (23)

Kate Franke

Editorial Assistant

Kate Franke (she/her) is the editorial assistant at Woman’s Day. She loves all things lifestyle, home, and market related. Kate has a BAJMC in Magazine Media and BA in Writing from Drake University. She is a proud ASME alum whose work has appeared in Food Network Magazine, The Pioneer Woman Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Modern Farmhouse Style, Beautiful Kitchens & Baths, and more. Next to writing, Kate’s two favorite things are chai lattes and pumpkin bread!

90 Scary Easy Carving Ideas for Your Best Halloween Pumpkin Ever (2024)

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