Skip to content

Top Navigation

Martha Stewart Martha Stewart
  • FOOD
  • HOLIDAYS
  • ENTERTAINING
  • HOME
  • GARDENING
  • CLEANING & ORGANIZING
  • WEDDINGS
  • SHOP
  • DIY
  • BEAUTY & WELLNESS
  • LIFE
  • NEWS
  • MARTHA'S BLOG
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Martha's Blog
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Your Content
  • Logout

More

  • Enter to Win $10,000 to Makeover Your Home!
  • Martha's Blog
  • Weddings
Login
Pin FB

Explore Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart Martha Stewart
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Tips on Organizing Your Home

      Tips on Organizing Your Home

      From the kitchen and bathroom to the bedroom and laundry room, here are 40 ways to simplify, streamline, and banish clutter throughout the house. Read More
    • These Are the Paint Colors You'll See Everywhere in 2022

      These Are the Paint Colors You'll See Everywhere in 2022

      Upgrade your spaces with new—and old—classics. Read More
    • 39 Make-Ahead Holiday Dishes That Are Perfect for Festive Family Gatherings

      39 Make-Ahead Holiday Dishes That Are Perfect for Festive Family Gatherings

      These classic recipes will help you get a head start on the festivities. Read More
  • FOOD

    FOOD

    See All FOOD
    • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
    • Lunch Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Appetizers & Snacks
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Drink Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Recipes
    • Vegetarian Recipes
    • Cooking How-Tos
    • Baking
    • Menu Planning
    • Food News & Trends
    • Wine
    • Mastering the Holiday Meal
    • What's for Dinner
    • All Recipes
  • HOLIDAYS

    HOLIDAYS

    See All HOLIDAYS
    All of Our Best Valentine's Day Crafts to Make from the Heart

    All of Our Best Valentine's Day Crafts to Make from the Heart

    Express your love with handmade Valentine's crafts like paper cards, gift ideas, and decorations.
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patricks Day
    • Passover
    • Easter
    • Mother's Day
    • Father's Day
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • New Year's Eve
  • ENTERTAINING

    ENTERTAINING

    See All ENTERTAINING
    Will We Entertain Differently in 2022? These Are the New Trends Hostesses Should Bookmark

    Will We Entertain Differently in 2022? These Are the New Trends Hostesses Should Bookmark

    Secure your role as the host with the absolute most.
    • Seasonal Entertaining & Decorating
    • Baby Shower Ideas
    • Dinner Party Ideas
    • You're Invited
  • HOME

    HOME

    See All HOME
    How to Hang and Arrange Pictures

    How to Hang and Arrange Pictures

    Amp up your home décor with perfectly placed frames.
    • Home Design & Decor
    • Paint Colors & Palettes
    • DIY Home Projects
    • The Well-Kept Home
  • GARDENING

    GARDENING

    See All GARDENING
    Six Houseplant Mistakes to Avoid This Winter

    Six Houseplant Mistakes to Avoid This Winter

    Don't let your varieties fall victim to the perils of poor cold-weather maintenance.
    • Container Gardening
    • Flower Gardens
    • Houseplants
    • Landscaping
    • Vegetable Gardens
  • CLEANING & ORGANIZING

    CLEANING & ORGANIZING

    How to Deep Clean Your Oven with Baking Soda

    How to Deep Clean Your Oven with Baking Soda

    Our easy tips will make this cleaning task a lot less daunting.
    • Cleaning
    • Storage & Organization
    • Laundry & Linens
  • WEDDINGS

    WEDDINGS

    See All WEDDINGS
    Your Ultimate Wedding-Planning Timeline

    Your Ultimate Wedding-Planning Timeline

    Ready, set, go! Our no-nonsense guide will help you learn how to plan your wedding like a pro.
    • Real Weddings
    • Wedding Party
    • Wedding Planning & Advice
    • Wedding Ceremony & Reception
    • Wedding Jewelry
    • Dresses & Style
    • Wedding Beauty & Wellness
    • Wedding Registry
    • Wedding Showers & Parties
    • Love & Marriage
    • Wedding Travel
  • SHOP
  • DIY

    DIY

    See All DIY
    How to Knit: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide

    How to Knit: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide

    Learn how to knit your own mittens, hats, scarves, and more. We'll take you through the step-by-step instructions and teach you how to cast on, knit, purl, and cast off.
    • Dyeing
    • Holiday Crafts
    • Kids' Crafts
    • Knitting
    • Paper Crafts
    • Sewing
    • Rescue & Revamp
  • BEAUTY & WELLNESS

    BEAUTY & WELLNESS

    Your Complete Guide to Restoring Moisture Back Into Your Skin

    Your Complete Guide to Restoring Moisture Back Into Your Skin

    Take a multi-pronged approach if you're experiencing excess dryness.
    • Beauty
    • Health & Wellness
    • Live Well
  • LIFE

    LIFE

    See All LIFE
    • Family
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • Net Worth
  • NEWS
  • MARTHA'S BLOG
  • About Us

Profile Menu

Martha's Blog
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Contact Us
  • Your Content
  • Logout

More

  • Enter to Win $10,000 to Makeover Your Home!
  • Martha's Blog
  • Weddings
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. marthastewart.com
  2. DIY Projects & Crafts
  3. 10 Scary Pumpkin Faces That Are Straight Out of Your Spookiest Nightmare

10 Scary Pumpkin Faces That Are Straight Out of Your Spookiest Nightmare

By Alexandra Churchill
Skip gallery slides
Pin
devil pumpkin
Credit: ZACHARY ZAVISLAK

A petrifying pumpkin is good as guaranteed to spook and delight the neighbors, house guests, and trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. Try one of our ideas—from menacing eyes to devilish grins—to inspire your next carving project.

Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
devil pumpkin
Credit: ZACHARY ZAVISLAK

In the month of October, pumpkins watch from the front porch as you pass by the house. The eyes seem to follow you wherever you go! In the darkness of night, their faces glow with mischievous delight. You never know what these pumpkins are thinking, but you hope that it involves Halloween fun and candy. Of course, despite their frightening faces, we know that these pumpkins are harmless.

There's more than one way to decorate your pumpkin with a scary face, and we have dozens of templates and clip-art to personify your pick of the patch. Try a villainous visage comes with slanted eyes full of rage, furrowed brows, and a menacing scowl. Try a toothy grin with slanted catlike eyes, or carve a werewolf (listen—and you can practically hear your jack-o'-lantern howling out to the full moon).

Another idea we love? Give your pumpkins the gift of shadow by darkening the rinds with black floral paint. (That way, passersby will only see their glowing faces during the witching hour.) Fanged pumpkins are more likely to get a few giggles, but you have to admit their menacing faces are rather cute. Friendly bat pumpkins—created by attaching black construction paper bat wings to the back—are the perfect companion to your vampire pumpkins. You also don't have to stick to typical faces for your Halloween pumpkins. Eerily etched silhouettes are perfect for a seasonal centerpiece decoration. No matter your style or vision from imagination, choose one of our ideas to conjure up a scary pumpkin face for spooking all of your family and friends.

  • The Most Legendary Halloween Characters (and the Pumpkins to Match)

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Gruesome Grinning Pumpkins

etched green pumpkins
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo

Embrace the quirks of nature for your display: At the pumpkin patch, pass over perfect-looking globes and opt instead for those with lopsided shapes, cracks, and unusual shadings. Here, these green pumpkins were etched with scratchy facial expressions inspired by plant roots.

2 of 9

3 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Witch Jack-o'-Lanterns

mld105376_1010_witch12.jpg
Credit: Johnny Miller
Get the Witch Jack-o'-Lantern Template

Bumpy, lumpy, and greenish gray Hubbard squashes have the perfect complexions for making warty witch jack-o'-lanterns. Print the template for their faces and hats, and then carve their gaping grins. A little, greenish gourd makes for a bent and bulbous witch nose, and a pointy black hat completes the Salem-ready look.

3 of 9

Advertisement

4 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Fanged Pumpkins

vampire-pumpkin-1011mld106876.jpg
Get the Fanged Pumpkins How-To

More cute than bloodcurdling, these petite Drac-o'-lanterns are brought to vampirical life with pointed plastic fangs and red pushpins as demonic red eyes. Arrange them with a few bat-wing Baby Boo pumpkins, and this makes a fun family activity for kids too.

4 of 9

5 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Undead Pumpkins

zombie-pumpkin-1011mld106876.jpg

Don't get too close—these zombies look hungry. Best rest assured, creating your own googly-eyed monsters has never been easier: Simply cut two cone-shaped holes into the pumpkin, sawing at an angle. (The diameter of the holes should be slightly smaller than the eyeballs' diameter.) Wedge a pair of eyeballs into the holes and add a squiggly mouth.

5 of 9

6 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Rock Star Pumpkins

rock and roll pumpkins
Credit: Aaron Dyer

They look tough as nails, and rightfully so. After all, the hardware store provides plenty of inspiration for these pumpkins: thoughtfully placed nails, brads, wire, spikes, and safety pins become glinting mohawks and piercings.

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Blackened Pumpkins

ft_oct05msl56.jpg
Get the Blackened Pumpkins How-To

Traditional bright-orange jack-o'-lanterns stand out under the veil of darkness, but not these puckish pumpkins. They blend seamlessly into the shadows with their black-painted rinds and glowing innards, observing unsuspecting trick-or-treaters who come knocking at your door.

7 of 9

8 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Pumpkins with Scary Etched Silhouettes

la102831_1007_pumpkins.jpg
Credit: Antoine Bootz
Get the Pumpkins with Scary Etched Silhouettes How-To

In this elegant arrangement of rendered silhouettes stands a severed skull 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 skull is pared gently from the outer shells.

8 of 9

9 of 9

Pin
Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message

Fierce Feline Pumpkin

carved pumpkins
Credit: Antoine Bootz

Our crafts department's signature style of carving pumpkins in relief—thinning the flesh so the design stands out clearly—makes for a dramatic jack-o'-lantern. Here, a snaggletoothed cat screeches to hair-raising effect.

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Alexandra Churchill

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9
    2 of 9 Gruesome Grinning Pumpkins
    3 of 9 Witch Jack-o'-Lanterns
    4 of 9 Fanged Pumpkins
    5 of 9 Undead Pumpkins
    6 of 9 Rock Star Pumpkins
    7 of 9 Blackened Pumpkins
    8 of 9 Pumpkins with Scary Etched Silhouettes
    9 of 9 Fierce Feline Pumpkin

    Share & More

    Facebook Tweet Email Send Text Message
    Martha Stewart

    Learn More

    • Contact Us
    • Customer Service
    • Media Kit
    • Martha's Blog
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing
    • FAQ
    • Corporate
    • International
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Sign Up
    MeredithMartha Stewart is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright Martha Stewart. All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.marthastewart.com

    Sign in

    View image

    10 Scary Pumpkin Faces That Are Straight Out of Your Spookiest Nightmare
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.