Halloween 2023. Beetlejuice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqDkisFyHd4

Somebody’s Watching Me – Beatfreakz complete with custom programmed animatronics, projection mapping and a laser light show!

Like the ghouls and ghosts who spook us every Halloween, jack-o’-lanterns—so tempting to tiny predators and susceptible to mold and rot—are not really meant for this earthly plane.

“The typical jack-o’-lantern normally has a three-day life expectancy at best,” said Marc Evan, co-founder of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers in Brooklyn, New York, in a phone interview. “With something so highly perishable, it’s a very zen thing, to carve a pumpkin knowing that it might not last as long as it took you to make it.”

We do not recommend brining pumpkins, spraying them with bleach or, um, coating them in WD-40, as some questionable advisors on the internet might suggest. Any of these options can be harmful to wildlife—not to mention that they are a lot of work for what might still be little or no payoff.

That’s right: Most people are cutting their jack-o’-lantern’s hole (through which you scoop out the inside) in the wrong place.

The stem is crucial to preserve for structural reasons. As Soria put it, “It’s almost like the top of an umbrella holding the pumpkin together. If you cut through the top, after a day or two, that lid tends to fall right through the hole you’ve made. Then it’s only a matter of time before the pumpkin is completely gone.”

So when you’re ready to turn your pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern, begin by either cutting a hole in the bottom, as Taryn recommends, or on the back side of your creation, as Evan suggests. And either way, save that piece so you can put it back in place like a stopper when you’re done.

Fresh pumpkins last longer, and “typically, the freshest pumpkins are available at farm stands, farmer’s markets, and pumpkin patches,” Evan said. “Pumpkins from grocery stores or big-box stores are never as fresh as when you go directly to the source.”

Pumpkins at optimal freshness display telltale signs, starting with that essential stem: A fresh gourd has its stem firmly attached, and the greener the stem, the better. “The stem is the lifeline,” Evan explained. “Some nutrients are still going into the pumpkin through the stem after it’s been picked. As pumpkins get older, the stems get dry and brittle and tend to fall off pretty easily.”

Pumpkins like cool temperatures and circulating air, so they fare better amid chilly autumnal breezes than inside your house (especially if you have your heat on). “If you keep it indoors, how long it’s going to last is going to be hit or miss,”

“Refrigeration is good; freezing is bad,” Evan said. “Pumpkins are made mostly of water, so once you freeze them, the cell walls can break, and they can lose their structure.”

A basic scrub-down with soap and water helps remove some of the bacteria, yeast, or airborne contaminants that may be on your pumpkin’s surface, Evan said, which could be transmitted to the interior during carving and speed up the degradation process.

Because squirrels, chipmunks, and their friends can’t resist a carved pumpkin, consider storing your jack-o’-lantern inside—or somewhere protected outdoors, like an enclosed porch if you have one—overnight and during other viewing downtimes.

Take a picture, it’ll last longer
“One of the most common questions we get is, ‘how can I get my pumpkins to last longer—or forever?’” Soria said. “What we like to tell people is: Some of the best things in life don’t last forever, so the best thing you can do is take a photo.”