The Jack O’ Lantern has been the symbol of Halloween for just about as long as people have been celebrating this spooky celebration of all things macabre and deathly. While pumpkins are not in season in Australia’s springtime, many supermarkets have embraced the Halloween craze and have started supplying pumpkins just in time for Halloween.

If you haven’t carved out a Jack o’ Lantern before it’s a great way to get into the spirit of the night. They won’t last long in our balmy weather, so don’t carve your pumpkin until the day before at the earliest, or be prepared to keep it in the fridge. You can find all sorts of design inspiration on the internet, from haunted houses and cartoon characters, but we think that the scary smile is still the way to go.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 short, sharp knife
• Skewer
• 1 dessert spoon or ice cream scoop
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 candle or tea-light
• Plenty of newspaper to protect the work surface
• Large bowl for pumpkin seeds and flesh

Step 1

Cut a circular hole around the stalk. To stop the lid of the Jack O’ Lantern from falling in, carve this circle on an angle, by tilting the knife towards the centre of the pumpkin.

Step 2

Roughly scoop out the seeds and any loose flesh. Don’t hollow out the pumpkin just yet – you’ll need it to be firm while you carve the face.

Step 3

Sketch your face design onto the pumpkin. Use a pen, rather than a texta, so that you can scrub off your markings later. Remember, that the more you carve out, the more light will shine through, so feel free to make a BIG face.

Step 4

Carefully cut out your pumpkin’s face features using the knife. You can use the skewer to outline the pattern with dots, which may make it easier to carve with the knife afterwards. Make sure the cut surfaces are clean cut – you don’t want the light to shine over messy or uneven cuts – you can go over the design until it looks perfect.

Step 5

Using the spoon or the ice-cream scoop, scrape away the flesh on the inside of the pumpkin until it is 1 cm thick.

Step 6

Mark out a circle the size of your tealight on the base of the pumpkin. Carefully hollow out the marked area with a teaspoon. This will keep it steady.

Place your candle in the hollow, light it and replace the lid of your Jack O’ Lantern. Place in your windowsill, or on your front porch, and prepare to meet a steady stream of Trick-Or-Treaters.

The scary face of the Jack O’ Lantern has been a symbol of Halloween for just about as long as people have been celebrating this spooky celebration of all things macabre and deathly. While pumpkins are not in season in Australia’s springtime, many supermarkets have embraced the Halloween craze and have started supplying pumpkins just in time for Halloween.

If you haven’t carved out a Jack o’ Lantern before it’s a great way to get into the spirit of the night. They won’t last long in our balmy weather, so don’t carve your pumpkin until the day before at the earliest, or be prepared to keep it in the fridge. You can find all sorts of design inspiration on the internet, from haunted houses and cartoon characters, but we think that the scary smile is still the way to go.

Here’s what you will need:

• 1 short, sharp knife
• Skewer
• 1 dessert spoon or ice cream scoop
• 1 teaspoon
• 1 candle or tea-light
• Plenty of newspaper to protect the work surface
• Large bowl for pumpkin seeds and flesh

Step 1

Cut a circular hole around the stalk. To stop the lid of the Jack O’ Lantern from falling in, carve this circle on an angle, by tilting the knife towards the centre of the pumpkin.

Step 2

Roughly scoop out the seeds and any loose flesh. Don’t hollow out the pumpkin just yet – you’ll need it to be firm while you carve the face.

Step 3

Sketch your face design onto the pumpkin. Use a pen, rather than a texta, so that you can scrub off your markings later. Remember, that the more you carve out, the more light will shine through, so feel free to make a BIG face.

Step four

Carefully cut out your pumpkin’s face features using the knife. You can use the skewer to outline the pattern with dots, which may make it easier to carve with the knife afterwards. Make sure the cut surfaces are clean cut – you don’t want the light to shine over messy or uneven cuts – you can go over the design until it looks perfect.

Step five

Using the spoon or the ice-cream scoop, scrape away the flesh on the inside of the pumpkin until it is 1 cm thick.

Step six

Mark out a circle the size of your tealight on the base of the pumpkin. Carefully hollow out the marked area with a teaspoon. This will keep it steady.

Place your candle in the hollow, light it and replace the lid of your Jack O’ Lantern. Place in your windowsill, or on your front porch, and prepare to meet a steady stream of Trick-Or-Treaters.