10 Gothic Pumpkin Faces

We curated 10 of the very best gothic pumpkin faces so you can pick one and start carving in minutes.

1. Witch with Staff Pumpkin Stencil
A robed witch figure stands holding a tall staff topped with a flame in this expert pumpkin stencil, her pointed hat bearing a spiral curl at the tip and wisps of energy trailing her cloak and pooling at her feet. The design reads as a solid silhouette with strategic interior cuts for the face, flame, and cloak detail, so candlelight halos the entire figure while the fine interior strips glow separately. Keep the narrow bridge connecting the flame to the staff intact until last, as it is the most likely point to snap under blade pressure.
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2. Sugar Skull with Roses Pumpkin Stencil
A sugar skull face with flower-ringed eye sockets, a crown of jagged flames, a heart-shaped nose, and rectangular teeth is surrounded by six individually carved roses in this expert pumpkin stencil. Every petal cluster, leaf, and decorative element is a separate pierce-through, creating an intricate Day of the Dead tableau. The carved pumpkin glows through dozens of individual openings simultaneously. Work from the center outward: finish all skull face details before the outer roses, so you can brace the pumpkin face-side-down when carving the perimeter flower clusters.
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3. Haunted Church Pumpkin Stencil
A tall, narrow haunted church or castle rises in this pumpkin stencil, with a central spire topped by a cross, two flanking branch-like towers each capped with crosses, arched windows, and square window panels scattered across the facade. The entire structure is cut out as a series of interconnected shapes against the solid pumpkin face. Carve the small window squares and the tiny cross tops first, working top to bottom, so the tall thin towers stay structurally sound until the end.
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4. Medusa Pumpkin Stencil
Medusa's face stares out from this expert pumpkin stencil, her features rendered as thin-cut channels forming almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, and full lips against a solid oval face. The hair is replaced by dozens of writhing snake bodies, each carved as an interlocking mass of curved shapes with heads visible at the perimeter, open mouths and coiling bodies creating a dense web of negative space around the face. When lit, the snake-hair region glows with a complex, shifting pattern while the face remains a composed solid island. Work the snake-hair sections in quadrants, finishing each area before moving to the next, so no large unsupported skin islands shift mid-carve.
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5. Sugar Skull Sombrero Pumpkin Stencil
A calavera skull wearing a wide sombrero fills this expert pumpkin stencil: the sombrero brim is ringed with rows of small scallop-cut holes and vertical stripe slots, the crown shows banded tiers, and the skull below has large flower-shaped eye sockets, a heart-shaped nose, a grinning mouth, and curling moustache scrolls on each side. Every decorative element is cut away so candlelight floods through the scallops, stripes, and flower eyes simultaneously, creating an elaborate Day of the Dead glow. Start with the tiny scallop holes along the sombrero brim before any other cut, since those are easiest to control while the surrounding skin is still rigid.
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6. Bride of Frankenstein Pumpkin Stencil
A portrait-style bust of the Bride of Frankenstein dominates this expert-level Frankenstein pumpkin stencil, her wild electrified hair radiating outward in dozens of jagged flame-like spikes. Solid gray masses define the face and shoulders, while the surrounding tendrils are carved as individual pierced channels that let candlelight filter through in a scattered, dramatic halo. Many of the hair tips are freestanding islands connected by thin pumpkin bridges. Carve the facial features and solid facial mass last, after clearing all the surrounding hair spikes, to avoid distorting the face while your hands are still working near it.
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7. Sugar Skull Pumpkin Stencil
This sugar-skull pumpkin stencil features a circular skull face filled with symmetrical Dia de los Muertos ornamentation: two large almond-shaped eye sockets, a central floral cross motif above them, scrollwork tendrils curling outward on both cheeks, and a rectangular tooth-grid at the chin. The design carves as a mix of open negative spaces and solid orange bridges that define each decorative element. Cut the cheek scrollwork before removing the large eye sockets, since the thin curling lines are easier to control while the surrounding wall is still solid.
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8. Haunted Mansion Pumpkin Stencil
A tall narrow haunted mansion rises up this pumpkin stencil as a stacked tower: a pointed triangular roof at the top, a rectangular belfry below, then three descending tiers of arched window pairs that grow progressively wider, finishing with a rounded arched doorway and grass tufts at the base. All windows and the door arch are cut through, leaving orange wall between each tier as structural separators. Cut the door arch at the bottom first to relieve pumpkin tension, then work upward tier by tier so the cuts above don't flex the completed windows below.
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9. Gargoyle Pumpkin Stencil
A detailed gargoyle face stares out from this expert pumpkin stencil, with swept-back horns, pointed ears, arching eyebrows, a broad flat nose, and wide wings that flare to either side like a cathedral guardian. Dozens of separate cut-out pieces form the facial features and wing feathers, leaving solid bridges of pumpkin skin to hold each island in place. Work from the smallest interior details outward: cut the eyebrow slashes, nostril notch, and tiny chin dimple first, then the larger wing panels last, to keep the fragile facial bridges stable while you carve.
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10. Haunted Church Pumpkin Stencil
A tall, narrow gothic church building with a cross at its steeple peak forms this haunted-house pumpkin stencil. Flanking the spire are two dead trees rendered as diagonal stick shapes with crosshatch window-pane details, and a row of grass tufts sits at the base. The arched doorway and tall multi-pane windows are the primary cut-through openings, while the church walls, trees, and ground remain solid. Cut the small rectangular window panes in the trees first, then the main church windows, so the thin tree branches stay anchored while you work.
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