Carve the archive
Seven printable carving stencils, pulled from the file rather than the clip-art drawer. Print the sheet, tape it to the pumpkin, poke the outline with a pin — then cut the dark parts out and let the candle file the rest.
The easiest spirit to release. Two eyes, one mouth, no grudges.
The séance board’s answer made portable. Keep the ring’s bridge — it holds the eye.
One curve in, one curve out. The moon has been filed as a witness 3,500 times.
What the trick-or-treat street sees through. Cut the circle first, then the drop.
Dracula’s press agent since 1897, and a pest-eating neighbor before that. Both facts are filed.
Eight legs, one web, a reputation for guarding the rooms nobody dusts. Go slow on the legs.
For the pumpkin that wants credentials. The letters are the carve — keep the counter-spaces.
Field technique
- 01Transfer, don’t freehand
Tape the plate flat, then poke along the dark edges with a pin or skewer every few millimeters. The pumpkin keeps the dots; the paper goes home.
- 02Cut the dark, keep the bridges
Every black shape is what you remove. Islands — the ghost’s eyes, the planchette’s ring — stay attached because the pattern was drawn with bridges. That’s the whole trick of stencils.
- 03Saw, don’t slice
A short serrated carving saw beats a kitchen knife at the corners. Cut perpendicular, let the blade do the turning, and push pieces out from the inside.
- 04Light it honestly
A real candle throws the warm flicker the designs were drawn for; an LED tea light survives the night. The file recommends one of each and doesn’t testify which looked better.