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Kenova Pumpkin House

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Kenova Pumpkin House in 2006

The Kenova Pumpkin House is a Halloween attraction in Kenova, West Virginia, United States. Over 3,000 pumpkins are carved into jack-o'-lanterns and displayed on and in front of a large Victorian house.

Display

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The display features thousands of jack-o'-lanterns covering the home of Ric Griffith, the town pharmacist.[1] The whole property is accessible to the public. It includes a wall of carved pumpkins called the Pumpkin Orchestra which is synchronized to music including Carmina Burana and the 1812 Overture.[2] It runs from October 25 to October 31. Aside from the display, it features Halloween-related activities, food vendors, and live entertainment.[3]

The display is put together with the help of around 1,500 volunteers, with many from churches, youth groups, and schools, including students from Spring Valley High School.[4][3] They make designs and carve the pumpkins.[5] A wide variety of themes are found on them, including American presidents and designs related to Marshall University.[3] Griffith provides instruction to carvers.[5]

According to Griffith, about 100,000 people come to view the house,[5] visiting from 46 countries and 48 states in 2024.[6]

All the pumpkins come from a farmer in Proctorville, Ohio. After Halloween, the setup is disassembled and the pulp from carving and the pumpkins are donated for use as animal feed.[2]

History

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Griffith started the tradition in 1978 with just four pumpkins. The first jack-o'-lanterns were likenesses of each member of his family which he put on the porch of his house. He continued to carve more pumpkins each year to see how many he could create to decorate his house. After moving to a large Victorian home in 1991, the family took to the project even more to try to cover all the additional space. The 1891 Joseph S. Miller House is a National Historic Landmark due to its association with Joseph Miller, the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner under President Grover Cleveland, who once visited the house.[7] The display eventually grew to over 3,000 pumpkins, with them even on the roof of the house.[3]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffith decided it was too risky to do the display at his home due to the large crowds that congregate to view it. He opted instead to have members of the community come by and pick up a pumpkin so it can be carved and displayed at their own homes. He created printed out instructions to go with each pumpkin to help the children and their families carve them.[8][9]

In 2024, pumpkins were carved in honor of noted West Virginians, including Shelley Moore Capito, Jennifer Garner, and Babydog, the English bulldog of former Governor and now senator Jim Justice.[3]

In 2025, a scene of the horror film Self-Help was filmed at the Pumpkin House.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Sebert, Paul (October 21, 2021). "Griffith & Feil Soda Fountain a place of nostalgia". The Herald-Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Imbrogno, Douglas (October 29, 2015). "3,000 pumpkins later, Kenova Pumpkin House comes to life". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Archived from the original on October 19, 2026. Retrieved October 16, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kenova Pumpkin House Shines in 2024 with Thousands of Carved Pumpkins and New Attractions". WV News. October 24, 2024. Archived from the original on October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ Richardson, Jesten (October 9, 2025). "Kenova Pumpkin House invites volunteers to help prep 3,000 pumpkins for 2025 display". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Archived from the original on February 26, 2026. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Pinchok, Marlee (October 9, 2026). "Volunteers needed for the Pumpkin House". WSAZ. Archived from the original on October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ Colegrove, Andrew (October 29, 2025). "We the People | Kenova's Pumpkin House". WSAZ. Archived from the original on October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ Meffert, Christian (October 30, 2024). "The history of Kenova's Pumpkin House". WOWK-TV.
  8. ↑ Creasy, Luke (July 29, 2020). "Pumpkin House tradition won't end, owner says, but display was 'too risky' because of virus". The Coal Valley News. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  9. ↑ Ward, Lee (October 23, 2020). "Lighting up Halloween — Pumpkin House owner hopes wife is right: 'If you carve them, they will come'". The Daily Independent. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 17, 2026. Retrieved October 16, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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38°24′00″N 82°34′01″W / 38.3999°N 82.5669°W / 38.3999; -82.5669

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