The Kenova Pumpkin House

Photo: Dave Fatella at WVPics

This is an awesome story of a West Virginian man who, along with volunteers, carves over 3,000 pumpkins and display them on his house every Halloween!

Ric Griffith, the man behind the famous Kenova Pumpkin House, has carved over 25,000 pumpkins since 1978. Every year, he puts thousands of carved jack-o'-lanterns on the porch, roof, and yard of his 115-year-old Victorian house. It's kind of like a pumpkin wonderland (see a few more pics at WVPics' gallery)

The Daily Independent Online published this 2006 interview with Ric, on why he goes through all that trouble:

On Thursday, Griffith went around drawing faces on hundreds of pumpkins, getting them ready for carving. He said he only gets about four or five hours of sleep during the month of October as he works diligently preparing for the thousands of visitors who will come on Halloween night to see his pumpkins.

“People ask me every year, ‘Why to you do this?’ I always said it was something for the children and adults who enjoy coming to the ‘Pumpkin House.’ But an elderly woman said something to me one Halloween that really gave meaning to all this,” he said.

“She was crying and she said, ‘It’s so easy for adults to lose the wonderment of childhood. When you get older, you never feel like you did when you woke up on Christmas morning. Well, I want to tell you that I got that feeling here.’” (by Sarah Lynch, source. Image: Kevin Goldy/The Independent)

Last year's display included a fantastic 16 by 16 wall of carved jack-o'-lanterns with lights synchronized to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture:

[YouTube Link]

If you're near the area, you can visit the Ric Griffith's Pumpkin House at 748 Beech St., Kenova, WV.

Links and Sources: WV Culture article by John Lilly - Thanks Becky :) | Daily Independent article by Sarah Lynch | The Pumpkin House Gets Ready, article and video at WSAZ