One of the most memorable events of the year takes place around Halloween at the Van Cortland Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Here, literally thousands of incredible jack o’lantern carvings are lit up in a spooky exhibition of giant spiders, flying pumpkin ghosts, skulls, skeletons, bats and other hair-raising entities, all handmade from pumpkins. This year’s main attraction are some awesome life-sized dinosaurs which give the place a very spooky prehistoric feel.

According to HudsonValley.org, The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze takes place throughout October and early November lasting for a whopping 25 days. 5,000 hand-carved, illuminated jack o’lanters are displayed along a pathway open to anyone lucky enough to get one of the fast-selling tickets. For only $16 (or $20 in the weekends), you can “stroll through the Tunnel O’ Pumpkin Love and witness the incredible sight of gourd-filled Jack-in-the-Boxes springing up and bouncing around. See slithering ground snakes, a giant spider web, and go gaga over a collection of shrunken Little Monsters. Gaze in amazement at a towering pumpkin bonfire and a working doomsday grandfather clock.”

However, the main attraction of this year’s blaze are the life-sized dinosaur skeletons made entirely out of pumpkins stacked together.Extinct creatures such as a pterodactyl and a brontosaurus are laid out for everyone’s viewing pleasure on an empty field so as not to overshadow other equally brilliant but smaller creations. In this horror-land, even the decorations are carved from pumpkins into very beautiful intricate recognizable or abstract designs which, along with the creepy background music, add to the terrifying atmosphere. This very popular event has been visited by 65,000 people last year and more are expected to take part in this year’s hour-long tour of frightening beauty.

Photos:  Joshua Bousel, Bryan Haeffele, Facebook

via This Is Colossal