Halloween gives innocent vegetables a chance to show off their darker sides.

Inspired by the Calvin and Hobbes horror show of snowmen, I wanted a halloween pumpkin that was easy to make, but that had a playful narrative element.

Materials:
Speckled gourd
Baby pumpkin
Small dried corn cob
Toothpick
Small carving knife or X-acto knife
Tea light
2 papaya seeds or buttons

Step 1:

I went to the local pumpkin patch and picked out a speckled gourd, a baby pumpkin and a decorative corn cob.

Step 2:

After hollowing out the pumpkin and gourd and carving the features, I removed the husk from the corn and attached it to the end of the gourd with a toothpick for the rattler’s rattle.

Step 3:

Since we had a papaya in the fridge, I used the seeds for the snake's eyes.

Step 4:

I put a tea light in the baby pumpkin to provide illumination and cut a hole in the back where the snake's mouth would cover it. It provided ventilation and allowed the snake's eyes to glow.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and the trick-or-treaters were delighted.