Halloween Nation: Behind the Scenes of American's Fright Night

"Training the Next Generation of Pumpkin Kings"
By Lesley Pratt Bannatyne
Pelican Publishing, April 2011

"They're substantial enough to have a presence," says Ryan Wickstrand of the Internet business zombiepumpkins.com. "The fact that they're hollow is interesting. So is the idea that they rot and keep coming back." (As in seeds, not reanimated pumpkin beasts, although that intrigues him too.)

Wickstrand creates pumpkin-carving patterns featuring the likenesses of horror and pop culture icons, such as characters from Shaun of the Dead, Gollum, Jack Torrance, Jack Sparrow, Jack Skellington, and lots of monsters. His "Eye of the Beholder" is a guy who's plucked his own eye and is looking at it. His "Tooth Fairy" wields oversized pliers and grins, showing a mouthful of crooked, rotting teeth.

"If you told me ten year's ago I would be this involved with pumpkins, I wouldn't have believed it," he laughs. "Orange was my least favorite color in art school. Now everything I see looks like a pumpkin. If I see a car go by and it's orange -- I see a pumpkin."

To read this article in it's entirety, pick up a copy of the book Halloween Nation! A collection of essays and interviews exploring the pop culture phenomenon that is Halloween, and why we celebrate it the way we do today.