Pack Rat is walking on sunshine

Note to readers: Here’s another time-sensitive article that was meant for the magazine but we are releasing it here and now!

Photo copyright McLaughlin

Who says costume makers get to have all the fun during Halloween? Put away your sewing machine and break out your power tools in preparation for October 31, 2008. Follow the gospel according to Tom Nardone, the Extreme Pumpkin carver, to make grotesque, hilarious pumpkin tableaus that resemble the snowmen graveyards from old Calvin and Hobbes comics. Tom’s website is a pumpkin lover’s paradise, with everything from tips on how to pick, clean, gut, paint, and obviously carve your squash. Hardly kids stuff, Tom stabs, maims, and sets his pumpkins ablaze in every effort to get the most intense pumpkin experience. Take his tips from extremepumpkins.com or from his two books, and make your own orange house of horror. If you find yourself mastering the pumpkin canvas, why not go for the gold? You will have until midnight on October 28 to submit an entry of pumpkin carved geekiness into the World of Warcraft’s annual contest. But be prepared for some fierce competition. These nerds know how to wield a carving knife.