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Pumpkinpocalypse: Gaze at ghastly squashes (pictures)

Ray Villafane and his crew of carvers turned pumpkins into fine, frightening art at the New York Botanical Garden. Here's a look at some of their spooky creations.

Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
Tim Hornyak
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1 of 13 Villafane Studios

Zombie closeup

Phoenix-based master pumpkin carver Ray Villafane and crew have chopped up super-squashes at the New York Botanical Garden. The main figure in The Haunted Pumpkin Garden exhibit, the 6-foot pumpkin zombie, is now rotting away in fine zombie fashion.
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2 of 13 Villafane Studios

Zombie birth

For lasts year's show at the New York Botanical Garden, Villafane and company carved this horrific scene from an enormous pumpkin.
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3 of 13 Villafane Studios

Raw materials

Ray Villafane poses with one of the smaller pumpkins he worked with at the New York Botanical Garden exhibit in 2012.
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4 of 13 Villafane Studios

Knife man

Villafane working on the zombie pumpkin. His crew includes carvers Andy Bergholtz, Trevor Grove, Chris Vierra, Alfred Parades, and Patrick Burke. They've been widely featured on shows such as "Halloween Wars."
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5 of 13 Villafane Studios

The skeleton

A welder assembles the metal framework supporting the 6-foot zombie made from pumpkins and gourds.
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6 of 13 Villafane Studios

Harvester of the undead

The assembled tableau at the New York Botanical Garden shows the zombie dragging a vine of other undead pumpkins.
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At work

Villafane puts the finishing touches on a grimacing pumpkin with a shaver tool.
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8 of 13 Villafane Studios

Chucky

This vision of Chucky was carved from a pumpkin from Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in California.
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9 of 13 Villafane Studios

Goblin

Carved last year, this goblin (or pig, depending on your perspective) is typical of Villafane Studios' 3D approach to pumpkin art.
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10 of 13 Villafane Studios

Peter

This portrayal of Peter the Pumpkin Eater is an inside-out tribute to the popular nursery rhyme.
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11 of 13 Villafane Studios

DJ pumpkin

This DJ pumpkin by Andy Bergholtz was carved for the cover of Pacific San Diego Magazine.
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12 of 13 Villafane Studios

Mogwai

This tribute to the 1984 film "Gremlins" was carved by Trevor Grove.
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13 of 13 Villafane Studios

Sand castles

Villafane and his fellow sculptors also work in sand, and have produced creations like this piece that was part of an exhibit in Niagara Falls on the War of 1812.

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