The Pumpkin From Hell

Hi. I'm posting a story I wrote 15 years ago as a senior in high school for my Composition class. So I'm not exactly Stephen King, but we already knew that. Hopefully this makes someone's Halloween a little spookier.

Thrusting the shovel down towards the earth, Dave finally severed the pumpkin vine. His friend Pete cheered and clapped loudly as a big grin spread slowly across Dave’s face. They had finally loosed a giant pumpkin.

The two boys gathered around the pumpkin, placing their hands on the underside of it. Using all their strength, they lifted the giant pumpkin into a wheelbarrow. Dave knew the pumpkin had to weigh at least one hundred pounds. Pushing the wheelbarrow across the pumpkin patch, they discussed how they planned to carve a champion jack o’lantern.

Once they arrived at their pickup, they again lifted the pumpkin up and set it in the back. They hopped in the cab and sped towards Dave’s house, anxious to see what they could do to the massive orange fruit. They definitely had material for a masterpiece.

Soon they arrived at Dave’s house. Unloading the pumpkin once more, they began the journey to the porch. They had to stop and rest several times before they finally had the pumpkin at the front door. Nevertheless, they eventually had it sitting on the kitchen table.

They then proceeded to turn it into a jack o’lantern. As Dave removed the seeds from inside, Pete traced the outline of the eyes and mouth on the side of the pumpkin.

“Do you suppose those tales about the pumpkin patch are true?” Dave asked Pete.

“Well, that’s what I heard,” Pete replied, “But I doubt it. I don’t really put too much faith in this Halloween crap.”

“Yeah, besides,” Dave said, “what could be enchanted about a pumpkin patch?”

The boys shrugged and continued their project. As they began to carve, they noticed that the pumpkin would jump slightly or move from side to side when an incision was made. It struck them as something weird, but they were too involved in what they were doing to worry about it.

Soon they were finished with it and stepped back to admire their work. They took pictures of it and were beginning to think of a place to put it when they noticed unusual changes taking place.

The hard orange pumpkin suddenly became soft. The boys poked at it, and their fingers sunk in slightly when they touched it. Then it began throbbing and pulsating like a heart. With each beat it inflated slightly, becoming larger by the second.

The two boys watched in amazement as the jack o’ lantern grew and grew some more. Soon it became such a burden for the table that the legs collapsed and the jack o’lantern hit the floor with a loud thud. Dave and Pete jumped back, startled at what had happened. Both were beginning to become frightened.

Now a soft wind began to whistle in the room as the pumpkin continued to increase its size. The wind blew inside the hollow pumpkin. The wind was icy cold, and made the boys shiver. Pete was about ready to run for the hills at this point, but Dave held him back.

Just then a blinding flash of lightning ignited the room with flames. They were now surrounded by flames which encompassed the entire kitchen with a circle of fire. The temperature increased by about two hundred degrees in an instant.

There was no way for the boys to leave now, and they watched more changes take place in the jack o’lantern. The eyes shone with a bright white glow and flashed between brilliant and dim.

The boys noticed huge pools of blood gushing back and forth against the interior walls of the pumpkin. Blood began to spew forth from the mouth and spotted the clothing of the boys.

The jack o’lantern then began to jump around the room, creating giant cracks in the walls when it crashed against the boundaries. The electricity went out, and the pumpkin continued to bound around the room. It hit Pete and knocked him down. Dave shook him, but Pete was unconscious.

The jack o’lantern totally had a mind of its own. It had pulsated and grown so much by now it nearly filled the room. Dave knew he had to act fast. He lunged against the pumpkin, beating it with his fists. His adrenaline was really flowing, and he put all his strength into defeating the pumpkin and its evil ways.

Dave began throwing objects at it, and the pumpkin seemed to weaken somewhat when a microwave hit it. But the pumpkin bounced back fiercer than ever, sucking Dave internally, and he splashed in the pools of blood. Dave seemed to have lost all hope, and screamed out it fear.

Suddenly he heard the voice of his old neighbor Gus outside the pumpkin. The pools of blood began to go dry, and Dave laid inside the pumpkin. Gus cut the pumpkin open and Dave climbed out and stood next to Gus, and they both stared down at the pumpkin, which laid bloody and slaughtered before them.

“Thanks, Gus,” Dave said, “how did you do that?”

“Well, it’s along story, but I learned years ago that I can communicate with jack o’lanterns on Halloween if I put on my bib overalls and stick a toothpick in my mouth. It seems to be some sort of magical power I have. When Is aw you boys were in trouble, I put on the overalls and rushed over.”

“Thanks, Gus, “ Dave said. “I thought I was gone.”

“Well, Dave, I’m glad I could help. Stay away from those pumpkins. They’re far too evil.”

With that Gus exited and left Pete and Dave to catch they breath after their horrifying experience with the pumpkin from hell.