Halloween for kids Pumpkin carving ideas Haunted house
Haunted house pumpkin carving
Ages 9+ · about 1 hour 30 minutes
A haunted house pumpkin has a house, windows, and a moon cut out of the side. It has more pieces and thinner walls than a face, so it suits kids 9 to 13 who design it, trace it, and help a grown-up carve it slowly.
What you need
- A big, tall pumpkin with a smooth front
- The haunted house stencil
- A big spoon
- Tape and a pushpin
- A small pumpkin saw and a small detail saw (for the grown-up)
- A battery tea light
How to make it
- Print the stencilPrint the haunted house stencil to fill the front of the pumpkin. Check that the walls between windows are at least 1 cm wide.
- Open it (grown-up)A grown-up cuts a lid around the stem with the knife angled toward the middle, so the lid sits on a ledge and doesn't fall in.
- Scoop it thinScoop out the seeds, then scrape the front wall a little thinner than usual, to about 1.5 cm, so small cuts are easier.
- Trace every lineTape the stencil on and poke along every line, a few millimeters apart. Peel it off and check that all the dots show.
- Carve the small parts first (grown-up)A grown-up cuts the windows first, then the door, then the outline of the house, and the moon last. Small parts first keeps the walls strong.
- Light itPut a battery tea light inside and put the lid back on. It is safer than a candle, and the pumpkin lasts longer.
Tips by age
For younger kids
Kids under 9 can carve the classic face instead, or paint the haunted house on with a white paint pen.
For older kids
Add a ghost in one window: cut the window, and keep the ghost shape inside as an uncut piece pinned with a toothpick.
Make it your own
More ideas like this
Classic happy face
Triangle eyes and a toothy grin: three straight cuts per shape, the easiest first pumpkin.
Surprised face
Round eyes and an O-shaped mouth. Circles are easy to draw and easy to cut.
Your kid's monster
Three eyes, uneven teeth: the face your kid draws is the design, wobbly lines and all.
On Kubrio, your kid can build a monster in Monster Maker and use its face as the design for the pumpkin.