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Winner of the VPFA Pumpkin Carving Competition

Posted onAuthorLaura Gill

With Heartfelt Thanks to the Victorian Pumpkin Fiction Association we are pleased to present the winner of the VPFA Halloween Pumpkin Carving Competition

Entrants were asked to represent an author, theme, topic or scene in Victorian Popular Fiction. Our team of judges–Kerry Featherstone (poet and keynote speaker #VPFAReligion), Anne-Marie Beller (keynote speaker #VPFAReligion & VPFJ Editorial Board) & Ann-Marie Richardson (VPFA Networking & Development Committee)–unanimously found The Yellow Wallpaper entry by Milly Harrison haunting, eerie and evocative. They were impressed by the exquisite detail – it wasn’t so much carved as crafted. 

The Yellow Wallpaper Halloween pumpkin carving
The winning entry submitted by Milly Harrison (@MillyKateH), 'The Yellow Wallpaper’: ‘At night in any kind of light, in twi­light, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all by moonlight, it becomes bars! The outside pattern I mean, and the woman behind it is as plain as can be.’ - Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Scroll through the gallery below to see some other fantastic submissions.

Frankenstein's Monster carved in a Pumpkin
"Was I, then, a monster?" by Jon Potter (@DrJonPotter): Frankenstein's monster is a timely comment on humanity's impact on nature and a reminder to go through the relevant research ethics committees.
Jack the Ripper carved in a Halloween pumpkin
'Jack the Ripper' holding a knife by Mark van Os: Many works of fiction, such as the gothic novel The Curse Upon Mitre Square by John Francis Brewer, were based upon or influenced by this elusive serial killer, who in 1888 stalked his victims in the dimly lit alleys of Whitechapel.
A scene from Lady Audley's Secret carved in a Halloween pumpkin
Lady Audley's Pumpkin by Sarah Parker (@DrSarahParker): Depicting a scene from Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1862), it captures the iconic moment when Lady Audley pushes George Talboys into a well
The profile of Sherlock Holmes carved in a Halloween pumpkin
'Consulting Detective' by Sophie van Os (@SophiavanOs): The Game is Afoot! This entry was indubitably inspired by the world’s most famous Victorian detective: the honourable Sherlock Holmes. Will this pumpkin be His Last Bow? That is The Final Problem for you to solve.
The cover image of The Beetle carved in a Halloween pumpkin
Catherine Martin's design is based on the original cover illustration of Richard Marsh's extremely weird novel The Beetle (1897)
Cathy's tombstone carved in a Halloween pumpkin
The first of Joanne Knowles' (@JoanneKnowlesUK) triptych representing the final scene of Wuthering Heights and the sight of the three graves: Cathy's overgrown, Edgar's with some growth, Heathcliff's still bare (though grass crept in through over enthusiasm).
Edgar's Tombstone carved in a Halloween pumpkin
The second of Joanne Knowles' (@JoanneKnowlesUK) triptych representing the final scene of Wuthering Heights and the sight of the three graves: Cathy's overgrown, Edgar's with some growth, Heathcliff's still bare (though grass crept in through over enthusiasm).
Heathcliff's Tombstone carved in a Halloween pumpkin
The third of Joanne Knowles' (@JoanneKnowlesUK) triptych representing the final scene of Wuthering Heights and the sight of the three graves: Cathy's overgrown, Edgar's with some growth, Heathcliff's still bare (though grass crept in through over enthusiasm).
Cathy and Heathcliff's tombstones carved in a Halloween pumpkin
This image shows how you can recreate different pairings from Wuthering Heights with Joanne Knowles' (@JoanneKnowlesUK) triptych representing the final scene of the novel.