The Puking Jack-o-Lantern
This Halloween, Take Pumpkin Carving in a New Direction
Oct 21, 2009 Christopher Pascale
For those who enjoy carving jack-o-lanterns every October, coming up with different ideas can be tough. After all, one naturally thinks of making a pumpkin that is either scary or silly.
Scary pumpkins might have rigid teeth or fangs matched with angry eyes and maybe some coloring to enhance the effect. Silly pumpkins may have a tooth or two, more resembling a toddler than something out of Goosebumps.
This year, a different direction should be taken, and that direction is the puking jack-o-lantern.
How to Make a Puking Jack-o-Lantern
Before carving any pumpkin, the best place to start is with a pen or marker to outline the eyes, mouth, and nose.
The most important aspect of the puking jack-o-lantern is the mouth. Everything else is just details. The mouth must be big enough for the carver (or an assistant carver) to reach his or her hand in. Unlike other jack-o-lanterns, the seeds and membrane will be removed through the mouth rather than near the stem.
Once the mouth is carved, it is time to get down to the dirty work of removing the seeds and membrane, but the idea is not to remove them from the pumpkin, but to pull them out and let them hang, as though the jack-o-lantern is vomiting them.
Carving the Eyes and Nose
Carving the eyes and nose can be tricky because it is not hard to accidentally make the pumpkin look as though it is really happy to be there doing what it is doing. A great look for a jack-o-lantern like this is a look of surprise. This can be accomplished by giving it large round or oval eyes, and maybe some raised eyebrows, too.
In the end, though, if the pumpkin looks like it's having a great time, it's not a big deal, because it's Halloween. If there's one day a pumpkin should be allowed to have fun, it's then.
Once this is complete, the jack-o-lantern is a success. Now, the only question left is where to put it so that everyone else can admire it.
Placing a Puking Jack-o-Lantern
Fine pieces of art such as this should not be stored away in a museum but, rather, enjoyed by the people.
The key to placing a puking jack-o-lantern is to give the vomit its full effect. This is done by placing it on the edge of some kind of drop, such as a curb, steps, or a platform of some kind.
Once done, the whole neighborhood can enjoy it, and don't be surprised if others start popping up. Whole neighborhoods may end up with a puking pumpkin epidemic on their hands if pumpkin carving begins early enough.
Carve Puking Jack-o-Lanterns This Year
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