Halloween Tally

So I went back and checked my work and I carved 18 different pumpkin carvings this year. I had several pumpkins with multiple carvings in them, especially my final Halloween pumpkin which had 4 patterns around it.

The total number of pumpkins used for the year was actually 9. That would also be the same number of toilet paper rolls I used. I did make one addition and used a paper towel roll, but it didn’t last very long so I had a backup toilet paper roll at the ready. You really do get some odd looks when you show up at someone’s house carrying a can of gasoline, a pumpkin and toilet paper rolls. It’s either going to be a wild party or no one’s making it out alive.

Side note for all of you out there playing the home version, while the paper towel roll looks pretty cool and does shoot a pretty good flame, it doesn’t last very long at all and you will either need a second roll or more toilet paper if you want to get the full experience.

Around 4 gallons of gasoline were used to soak the paper rolls and propel the flames up to the Gods. I used a 5 gallon gas can and went through most of my supply. One thing to note here, while gasoline is a fair bit cheaper it stinks to high heaven while you’re working with it. And there is also that nagging back of your mind idea that a spark is going to ignite the fumes while the whole thing is sitting in your garage. So while lamp oil doesn’t smell anywhere near as bad and the fumes aren’t going to go off unexpectedly, it costs nearly 2-3 times as much at $9 a gallon. We’ll have to see what gas prices are like next year. You never know, gas may be 5 times more expensive than lamp oil next go round.

Some people suggested I use the Coleman fuel for the pumpkins since it’s supposed to burn white and look really cool. That might be amusing to try once, but since that costs around $12 a gallon, I don’t think I could afford to do it too many times. It sounds pretty neat though.

There was also the idea of combining boric acid and methanol to create a green flame. Either I’m looking in the wrong place or this stuff just isn’t that readily available. I couldn’t find any of these materials at all. Of course this gives me the idea of trying to make colored flames for next year. I will have to look into that and see what I can come up with. It sounds like a pretty fun experiment and now I have a full year to find my chemicals. I’m sure Homeland Security will have no problem with me ordering this stuff.

It was a heck of a month, but I shudder to think how much I actually spent. Quite frankly if I have my way for next year, the bill is going to go up astronomically. I might end up in some sort of rehab if I keep this sort of behavior up.

All the carvings were pretty impressive and I believe I have now mastered the art of pumpkin lighting. But, out of all of them, I think this one is the most impressive visually. It has some wicked flames coming out of it and it had some great height. There is just something about that trident of fire that looks really cool!

I have plenty of ideas for next year so while Halloween has just passed, I need to start asking around on how I can pull off some of my plans. And I have to figure out how to pay for it all.

Once again, a big tip of the hat to Zombiepumpkins.com for the great carving patterns and to Extremepumpkins.com for the wild ideas and getting the big kids involved in Halloween.

Don’t forget, you can see the entire 2008 pumpkin collection by clicking the link.

Or you can click to go to Webshots and see the collection with larger image sizes.

Other Articles of Interest:

• The Halloween Pumpkin Tally for 2010
• So here is the tally
• This is your pumpkin, ON FIRE!!
• Time to start things off with some flaming pumpkins
• New Flaming Pumpkins – Gargoyle and Melting Skull
• Flaming Pumpkins – Cemetery Zombie and Morty
• 2008 Flaming Pumpkin Kickoff
• Halloween Death Toll – The Big Finale
• Halloween Night Spectacle
• More flaming pumpkins