Did you know the Guinness World Record for fastest time to carve one Halloween pumpkin was set in Orlando?
Read on to learn about the world's fastest pumpkin carver and more amazing records, along with a few fun facts, just in time for Halloween.
-- Halloween World Records --
Fastest time to carve one pumpkin
On July 23, 2006, Stephen Clarke of Havertown, Pennsylvania carved a face into a pumpkin in 24.03 seconds at Universal Orlando.
Fastest time for carving 1 ton of pumpkins
On Oct. 29, 2008, Clarke carved one ton of pumpkins in 3 hours, 33 minutes and 49 seconds at Harrah's Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Most pumpkins carved in one hour
Two days later, on Halloween 2008, Clarke carved 50 pumpkins in one hour in New York City's Times Square to promote the "Goosebumps" book series.
Most people carving pumpkins simultaneously
The record is 965 pumpkins, carved by 965 students at the Malvern Town Centre in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada on Halloween 2005.
Largest pumpkin
The largest pumpkin on record weighed 1,818 lbs., 5 oz., and was presented by Jim and Kelsey Bryson at the Prince Edward County Pumpkinfest in Wellington, Ontario, Canada on Oct. 15, 2011.
Largest jack-o'-lantern
Scott Cully carved the world's largest jack-o'-lantern from one of the world's largest pumpkins on Halloween 2005. The pumpkin, grown by Larry Checkon, weighed 1,469 pounds.
Most lit jack-o'-lanterns displayed
The world record of 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns in one display was set at an event organized by Camp Sunshine, in Boston, on Oct. 21, 2006.
Longest walk-through horror house
The Cutting Edge Haunted House in Fort Worth, Texas, is 2,261 feet long. That's more than 4/10 of a mile.
Most portrayed character in horror films
As of 2014, Count Dracula has appeared in 272 different films, including 155 feature films.
Largest gathering of zombies
Zombie walks have grown popular in recent years, but the largest gathering on record consisted of 4,026 participants at the Big Chill Festival in Ledbury, England, on Aug. 6, 2009.
Largest gathering of skeletons
The record was set with 197 audience members on the set of the Paul O'Grady Show in London on Sept. 24, 2009.
Largest Halloween gathering
On Halloween 2009, 394 people showed up in full costumes at London Westfield.
Information and photo courtesy of Guinness World Records.
-- Did you know…? --
Deck the haunted halls
Halloween is the second most commercially successful holiday, behind Christmas. But it's the largest candy-purchasing holiday by far. More people by candy in the United States for Halloween than for Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day combined.
Most popular Halloween candies
The top four:
- Candy Corn
- M&Ms
- Snickers
- Hershey's Kisses
A candy cash cow
Halloween candy sales average about $2 billion annually in the United States.
The earliest mass-produced costumes
Halloween costumes first appeared in stores in the 1930s, when trick-or-treating started becoming popular in the United States.
Why orange and black?
Orange is associated with pumpkins and the fall harvest, and black is associated with darkness and death.
Why are black cats bad luck?
Black cats were once believed to be witches' familiars who protected their powers.
An ancient tradition?
Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
America's first junk food
Cracker Jack debuted at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and began being mass produced in 1896. In 1905, the Tootsie Roll became the first penny candy to be individually wrapped.
Choose wisely
The custom of trick-or-treating comes from the Celts, who believed they needed to hand out treats to the spirits that supposedly roamed the streets, so they would not play tricks on them.