UK pumpkin carvers get creative with ‘villainous’ Halloween creations

Pumpkin carvers across the UK have been busy producing tributes to their favourite fictional characters, video games and bands as the nation gets ready for Halloween.

Mark Peach, who works as a kitchen designer for B&Q and is based in Chorley, near Preston, carved an image of Din Djarin from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian, on to the skin of a pumpkin.

Mark Peach’s pumpkin in the light (Mark Peach/PA)

He said it took about an hour to make with a “few breaks in between” and was “very messy” as it was carved using a Dremel – a handheld tool which can have different components attached to it for different purposes.

The 49-year-old told the PA news agency: “When most people carve a pumpkin, they cut everything out all the way through, so the light shines through.

Mark Peach in the process of carving the skin of a pumpkin (Mark Peach/PA)

“If you just cut the skin and if you do it at different depths, the light shines through at different levels of brightness.”

To get the image etched on accurately, Mr Peach printed the picture he wanted on the pumpkin and stuck it on the fruit as a guide.

Mark Peach’s pumpkin in the dark (Mark Peach/PA)

“Sticking an image on to a pumpkin is quite hard because the image is flat, whereas the pumpkin is round, so it’s quite hard to get a perfect image,” he said.

“I’m not a real artist, so there’s no way I could draw it on there.”

Becky Frost’s game-inspired pumpkin (Becky Frost/PA)

Becky Frost, a community programme manager at Rare Ltd, said her pumpkin, which has floating pieces sticking out from its head and a sinister-looking glare, took “just a couple of hours” to carve while she was making dinner on Thursday.

“It’s based on one of the skull designs from the video game Sea Of Thieves,” Ms Frost, who is based in Oxfordshire, told PA.

“I’m one of the community managers at Rare who make the game, so I thought people who follow me might enjoy it.

Becky Frost’s pumpkin in the dark (Becky Frost/PA)

“A few people have said they’re going to try making their own, which is cool.”

She said the trickiest part was arranging the floating pieces on top.

“I used a handful of cocktail sticks and got poked a few times,” she added.

Katie, from Durham, who is a fan of The Wanted, spent two hours carving a tribute to member Tom Parker, who died in March 2022 at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

She carved the silhouettes of the five band members, as well as the lyrics “Some days stay gold forever”, from the group’s song Gold Forever.

Katie’s pumpkin tribute (Katie/PA)

She told PA: “It’s a heartfelt way to remember their music and keep their legacy alive.

“It felt like the perfect choice!”

The image which Katie carved on the pumpkin (Katie/PA)

She added it has been “amazing” to receive “such lovely comments” about her pumpkin, including a “surreal moment” when band member Jay McGuiness left a reply saying: “It’s so pretty and kinda spooky. It actually feels like looking at a memory.”