Carving Out a Niche
Meriden Man is Master of ZombiePumpkins.com
New Haven Register - New Haven, CT
By Sandi Kahn Shelton
October 18, 2004
Ryan Wickstrand poses with pumpkins he carved at his home in Meriden.
photo by Aaron Flaum
Most people, when asked to name their favorite holiday, might wax eloquently about Christmas trees, Hanukah candles or the smell of the Thanksgiving turkey roasting in the oven - but not Ryan Wickstrand of Meriden.
He admits that he has never quite gotten over the ominous thrill of Halloween. He loves it all: the ghouls, the goblins, the wretched zombies roaming the earth in search of human flesh.
What's not to love about that?
After all, Halloween night is "the only time of year when you can have blood splattered on your clothes and not get funny looks," he says.
So now that Wickstrand is 26 and settled into a career as a freelance graphic designer with a degree in fine arts, he's able to do what he's always wanted to do - help the rest of us see Halloween as he does, as one of the more liberating, fun times of year.
"It's really one of the more artistic, creative holidays there is," he explains. "I mean, sure, you can decorate for Christmas - but you can really decorate for Halloween. For one thing, it's the best pumpkin-carving holiday there is."
You do have to give him that.
Wickstrand works on a Homer Simpson form at his kitchen table.
photo by Aaron Flaum
As an artist, Wickstrand has given Halloween pumpkins a whole new lease on, well, life. No longer do people need to simply carve out some boring triangles for eyes and make a jaggedy line for a mouth. Wickstrand believes that pumpkins are meant to express some real personality, and so he's developed a whole web site devoted to stencils he's designed that you can use to bring some pizzazz to your pumpkin carving.
Sure, there are plenty of scary things at the site, zombiepumpkins.com. There are stencils of a guy who has removed and is now studying his eyeball, for instance. There's Dementia the Clown, and plenty of wicked goblins and ghouls.
Movie monsters are also well represented on the site: characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas," as well as Slimer from "Ghostbusters" and Leatherface from "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."
But while Wickstrand admits that these horror-based ones are his hands-down favorites, he also includes plenty of other kinds of stencils for those who are not so inclined. He has Homer Simpson, Herman Munster, Shrek, Tigger and Scooby Doo for those who might like their Halloween pumpkins a bit tamer.
There's even Elvis.
A special carving knife takes care of the fine details.
photo by Aaron Flaum
This is the second year of Wickstrand's site, called Zombie Pumpkins!, and he's thrilled with the response. He has 70 pumpkin stencils available for download so far, and is adding one per day. And if this year is anything like last year, he expects to have visitors numbering in the thousands per day.
The site, designed as a spoof to old B-movie posters, is filled with funny quotes, having to do with zombie pumpkins. These are the unfortunate pumpkins, Wickstrand says, that were ignored during Halloween celebrations of the past. They're the ones with mushy spots, broken stems, bumpy skin.
"And," says Wickstrand, "considered too ugly to be turned into jack-o-lanterns, you mercilessly left them to rot on their vines. They haven't forgotten."
The only way to avoid the curse of the zombie pumpkins is to carve them into original stencils.
"This time," he says, "it's carve or be carved! They can't be stopped! They can't be killed! They can't be turned into pumpkin pie!"
Wickstrand knows what you're thinking right now. He knows you are imagining that you could never be artistic enough to carve Scooby Doo or Elvis into a pumpkin.
"But with the right tools, you can do it," he says. "Anyone can." He recommends that you go to any store where Halloween decorations are sold and purchase a small carving kit, for between $3 and $6.
Two of Wickstrand's pieces glow in the dark at his Meriden home.
photo by Aaron Flaum
"Don't use your steak knives; the pumpkin will look all hacked up," he says. "Then just put the stencil on the pumpkin, poke little holes through the paper stencil through to the pumpkin, and then cut along the holes, like connect the dots. You're not going to believe how good this looks when it's lit up."
If you need further help, Wickstrand is there for you. His site even includes a section called "Terrifying Tips" just to let you know how to do it.
And - if you go on his site and think up a stencil you'd really like to see him do - he's amenable to that. He loves getting suggestions from the public.
But just now, he might be a little busy. It's his favorite holiday, and he's out spreading the word.
