A few brave readers in the ghoulish Halloween spirit sent us pictures of their pumpkin creations. Here are a few of the cleverly carved and decorated gourds. To see more, go to seattletimes.com/living.

Colleen McBrinn: 206-515-5655 or cmcbrinn@seattletimes.com

Fresh from

the fields

Becky Moore, Auburn

I used gourds for eyes, corn for eyebrows and corn husks for hair (its hair was originally straight up, but now it has "relaxed" in our rainy weather). The trick is to find just the right zucchini for the smile — not too fat, not too straight. I know the other shoppers at the grocery store must have considered me the pickiest zucchini shopper ever! I used finishing nails and double-sided tape to keep the veggies on.

Mother Earth

Dave Eckert, Mercer Island

I created this one last year. The idea was taken from a drawing in an old biology book I had. It was supposed to depict Mother Earth stretching out and creating the mountains, trees, water and so forth. The details got a bit tricky to keep together — but it helped to start with a 50-plus-pound pumpkin.

Double delight

Kathy Kingston, Seattle

I've named my uniquely shaped pumpkin "Siamese Twins with Grins."

Devilishly

good

Michele Kellett and Jim Anderson

My husband, Jim Anderson, came up with this red-hot devil. He used sweet red peppers for the nose and tongue, and Thai chili peppers for the brows and horns.