Carved pumpkins usually go solo -- the jaunty jack-o'-lantern perched on a stoop, greeting Halloween callers with a toothy smile. But presented in a cluster, these late-October luminaries really shine. This year, why not assemble dramatic vignettes to set the stage for a season of spine-chilling fun? Beckon treat-seekers with glowing orbs that radiate a spider theme on the steps of a dimly lit doorway. Or set a harvest table with pumpkins from which an ominous scarecrow and a black cat loom. These are just two of the scenes you can create using the techniques that follow. Before you visit the pumpkin patch or the farm stand, draw a sketch of your composition to determine how many pumpkins you'll need. Then, with an eye for sizes and shapes, choose ones with slightly flat faces, which will make it easier to transfer the designs. When carving time comes, invite friends over to partake of the craft of transforming pumpkins, large and small, into scenes full of watchful ravens, screeching cats, and fluttering moths. Your gang of pumpkins will bewitch the night so effectively, you'll want to enjoy them long into November.

Harvest Scenes
Above, a front door tempts trick-or-treaters with a collection of eerie spiderwebs and a trantula shining brightly. Below, a rickety picket fence unites a row of pumpkins in a depiction of a farmer's field. For both displays, electric string lights are fed through a hole in the pumpkin's base to provide constant illumination.

Get the template.

Victorian Gothic

 This sideboard tableau intersperses luminous pumpkins with a decanter of wine, a stand with fruit, and other objects evocative of Edgar Allan Poe and his tales of horror. To render the glowing silhouettes, we used two techniques: The bright candelabrum and goblet are cut through the pumpkins' walls, while the textured quill and skull are pared gently from the outer shells. Pumpkins of different hues, including white 'Lumina,' a green-gray 'Jarrahdale,' and burnt-orange cheese pumpkins, add tonal variety.

Tools and Materials
Keyhole saw to cut the opening
Plaster scraper, fleshing tool, or sharp, sturdy spoon for scooping out the pulpy flesh and thinning the walls
Awl, for transferring the template patterns
Narrow-blade and wide-blade linoleum cutters for etching designs
Miniature saw for carving designs
String lights
Glass jar
Template

Pumpkin How-To
Once the carving is complete, wrap string lights around the glass jar, then place jar inside pumpkin. We prefer this technique because you won't have to worry about the lights going out in your display.

To Begin
Cut a hole in base of pumpkin with keyhole saw. Scoop out seeds and flesh with plaster scraper, fleshing tool, or spoon; thin walls if desired. Choose templates. Reduce or enlarge as needed, and tape to pumpkin. Using an awl, pierce holes along perimeter of template; remove to reveal pattern outline.

For Etched Details
Using narrow-blade linoleum cutter, remove skin along perimeter of your design. Then use wide-blade cutter to pare away skin within design. (The more skin you pare, the brighter the design will glow.)

For Carved Details
Carve out your design using miniature saw. For intricate patterns with tight corners, work in sections.

Raven's Way
A bell-shaped squash serves as a vertical canvas for a moth-to-flame carving. Below, leaves seem to swirl and tumble in a chilly wind as a raven watches beneath a baleful, moonlit sky. Glowing along a stone wall or presented indoors on a deep mantel, this moody vignette can encompass as many pumpkins as space permits. It's also an opportunity to use fruits of various sizes in the same arrangement. (Keep in mind that smaller pumpkins are harder to work with.) We paired three basketball-style pumpkins with a small, smooth-skinned pie pumpkin.

Get the template.