Pumpkin Gallery View amazing photos sent in by BBC Cumbria users from around the world. Page 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 How to make a jack o'lantern Guide to pumpkin carving by Ulverston expert Lindsay Jordan. Halloween Traditions The stories behind the strange things we do at this time of year. History of Halloween How the festival has changed over the years. Horrible Horrorscopes Macabre Mark's worrying predictions. More features

Pumpkins and more Clear and simple site with all the information you could need. Big Pumpkins Online community of mega-pumpkin growers. Pumpkin Recipes From BBC Food. Includes Pumpkin Lasagne, Pumpkin Soup and... Pumpkin Cheesecake (!). The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Pumpkin carving facts

Some expert pumpkin carvers do multi-level carvings. They use the skin as level one, the flesh as level two etc.

'Jack o'lantern' refers to Stingy Jack from Irish mythology. He tricked the devil and was not allowed into either heaven or hell. Jack had to roam the earth with a glowing coal in a hollow turnip.

British and Irish people carved faces into turnips or potatoes to scare Jack and other spirits away. Early American settlers quickly found pumpkins were ideal.

A skeleton climbs out of the pumpkin.

Top tip: To preserve your pumpkin, keep it in the fridge when it's not lit.

This Scooby Doo design has left a thin membrane of skin which still lets the light through.