The Pumpkin House in Kenova, West Virginia, has been a must-see attraction for years. While it literally takes a village to bring it to life, one man is responsible for its creation and production. Ric Griffith is the former town mayor, a former state delegate, a retired pharmacist and a local business owner. But many just know him as the Pumpkin House guy.
“It started in 1978 for my family,” Griffith said, “with a whopping total of four pumpkins. After that, I thought, why not fill up the porch rail? Then the roof. Then the upper room. Suddenly, we had 200 pumpkins.”
When the family moved to a larger, historic home in 1991, they were putting out about 500 pumpkins. For 2025, his team will carve 3,000, which will be placed on and around the house for guests to view. As the project grew, so did the volunteer group.
“It started with my daughters and their friends,” Griffith said. “All these students would come
after school and help. As the legend grew, others joined in. Some would just show up in the backyard and ask how they could help.”
Soon, the core group grew to include churches, youth groups, schools from other communities and folks from day programs.
“Many said they were so touched by it over the years; they just wanted to give back.” By the year 2000, there were 1,600 volunteers, and Griffith directed them all in their duties.
“There are two types of volunteers,” he explained. “First is someone who’s never carved before. We hand them a jigsaw and just let them carve. They may mess up, but that’s OK. I hear the dreaded ‘oops’ and I know they need to start again.
“The second type is the person with artistic capability. We separate them and give them sculpting tools like those used in art. They do the more complicated carvings of people, celebrities, etc.”
Griffith said it’s crucial to place these pumpkins at eye level so their detail can be appreciated. “For the roof, you go for effect. You want it to glow. You can’t see the detail, so the general ones go there.”
More than 3,000 pumpkins, in a variety of sizes, come from Rocky Knob Farm in Prichard, West Virginia.
“They deliver them to my house the last week of September and place them on pallets,” Griffith said. “The next four weeks, it’s me in the backyard—drawing, creating, seeing the vision. I draw the simple ones for the roof first.”
Griffith creates the design on paper, then free hands the drawing on each pumpkin.
“My daughter Heidi helps and draws a few hundred each year,” he said. “I use a king-size
Sharpie because it has more ink and lasts longer. I don’t worry about mistakes, as they erase easily with an alcohol swab.”
The roughest, flattest side is best for carving, as it provides more space. “You can’t draw like you would on paper,” Griffith explained. “You have to leave a shape, so there are a lot of implied lines. Part of the feature will be visible, and part won’t. If you go too high or too wide—as with a face—the light won’t hit right.”
Volunteers arrive exactly one week before the last Saturday of the month to begin their work.
“You never know how many volunteers there are at a given time or what their skill level will
be,” Griffith said. “So, you work with what you’ve got. At that point, I’m out there 16 to 18
hours a day.” Kids begin the process by scooping.
“We take about 300 spoons, grind the handles down and this works well for the kids to use,” he said. “One year, after hearing about us, Martha Stewart sent a device that attaches to a drill to scoop out the pumpkins. Only adults can use this. We call it the ‘Marthanator.’”
Once carving is complete, LED lights are placed in each pumpkin, and Griffith directs where they’ll be positioned. The most intensive part is placing those on the roof. A ladder brigade is formed for that task.
Because of the short lifespan of carved pumpkins, the display is in place for only a week—
starting on the last Saturday of October prior to Halloween.
There is no admission charge, and it can be viewed 24 hours a day at 748 Beech St. in Kenova. Being considerate of waste, all scrapings and pumpkins are donated.
“Farmers show up Nov. 1 and remove it all,” Griffith said. “My mother taught me to never leave vegetables on my plate!”