How To Make A Jack O'Lantern That Foams At The Mouth For Halloween [VIDEO]

CLEVELAND, OH — Why have a jack-o'-lantern that just sits there doing nothing for Halloween when you can have one that foams at the mouth?

It's easier than you might think to achieve an oozing pumpkin, and you can make it ooze out its eye sockets and nose as well, depending on your level of commitment or desire to scare young children merely looking for free candy.

First, below are the supplies that you'll need -- many of them readily available in most homes. But of paramount importance if you're a child is the need for adult supervision. Here's what you'll need to achieve your spooky, oozing pumpkin:

• 12% Hydrogen peroxide ("V40" at hair salons)
• Liquid dish soap
• Food coloring
• Package of dry yeast
• Small cup (fits inside your pumpkin)
• Dish or cup for mixing
• Very warm water and stirring spoon
• Small, carved pumpkin with lid
• Gloves and paper towels for clean up
• Large plastic trash bag
• Tongs (optional)
• Safety glasses

It's the interplay between the yeast and hydrogen peroxide that gets the foam party started. Rather than explain it in painstaking detail, here's a video you can follow as a primer:

Remember to shut the "lid" quickly to achieve best results and optimal effect. You can tell kids your jack o'lantern has rabies, or some other variation on that frightening development.

Since we're on the subject of pumpkins, it's not hard to make those complex-looking versions that one might think requires true artistry from some over-achieving pumpkin Picasso. There are actually an untold number of stencils you can find on the Google, and it's really just a matter of following the steps once you find one you like.

Here's another handy video tutorial for the stenciled pumpkins:

We suspect this year there will be stencil-etched jack-o'-lanterns achieving the likeness of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Because Democracy.

On a more serious note: What's the deal with the teal? Throughout the country, teal-colored pumpkins will be seen as decorative accouterments to the autumnal tableau. The eye-catching teal-colored squash is an extension of the Teal Pumpkin Project, a movement promoting the idea of giving out non-food treats to children with allergies during Halloween.

The thoughtful trend was created by Food Allergy and Research Education (FARE), a non-profit dedicated to raising awareness of food allergy. To participate, paint a pumpkin the color teal and put it on the porch. Then, place a free printable sign or poster explaining the azure-verdant oddity and then proceed to distribute small toys, pencils, stickers, glow sticks or other trinkets the allergy-prone kiddos might enjoy.

According to FARE, all 50 states and 14 different countries participated last year. The project website even has an interactive "crowd-sourced fever map," which shows houses that will have teal-colored jack-o-lanterns outside.

The FARE folks urge those participating to spread the word and encourage their neighbors to take part as well. Here's what they suggest:

• Download free flyers to get your neighbors involved
• Use the hashtag #tealpumpkinproject to help us spread the word
• Enter your teal pumpkin in our contest by using #tealpumpkincontest and tagging us @FoodAllergy on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

To wrap up, we here at Patch would like to offer some pumpkin fun facts just because we can. The interesting tidbits below come via pumpkin-patch.com.

First off: Who started the tradition of pumpkin-carving in America? It was (drum roll, please) the Irish. The tradition actually originated with the carving of turnips or potatoes, but when Irish people immigrated to the U.S., they found an abundant supply of pumpkins they found much easier to carve in observance of their ancient tradition..

It's a good thing too, because it's hard to imagine a turnip o' lantern. Or a potato o' lantern, which is also just difficult to say. It's got too many syllables and vowels in close succession.

The History Channel expounds on the pumpkin-carving origins, detailing how the practice of fashioning pumpkins into jack-o'lantens has its roots in an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack. Irish immigrants then brought the tradition to America with their diaspora, replacing the potato/turnip canvases with the pumpkin sparking a practice that's become an integral part of Halloween festivities.

The Irish legend of "Stingy Jack" that begat jack-o'-lanterns explains our need to carve pumpkins into ghoulish figures is actually rather dark and macabre. If you don't know the history, you might want to sit down first.

According to legend, Stingy Jack invited the devil out for a drink. But true to frugal form, Stingy Jack refused to pay for the devil's drink. Instead, he convinced the devil to transform into a coin so he could buy a round for both. But once the devil did so, Jack simply pocketed the windfall keeping it next to a silver cross that prevented the devil from switching back to original form.

Stingy Jack would eventually free the devil under one condition: That he wouldn't bother him for one year and, when Jack died, the devil wouldn't claim his soul. After a year passed, Stingy Jack again outwitted the devil in convincing him to climb a tree to retrieve some fruit. While the devil was up the tree, Stingy Jack carved a sign of the cross into the bark to prevent the devil from climbing back down. As a condition to be liberated from the branches, Jack ordered the devil not to bother him for another decade.

Inevitably, Stingy Jack died. But even God hesitated to allow him into heaven given his checkered past and devil dalliances. Still upset about being tricked twice, the devil didn't want Stingy Jack in hell either. Instead, he sent him off into the darkness of the night armed only with a burning coal to light his way. Stingy Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has, according to legend, been roaming the Earth ever since.

The Irish took to calling the resulting ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lanter," which was later simplified to "Jack O'Lantern."

The Irish and Scottish began making their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits, according the History Channel. Large beets are still used in England for this purpose.

And now for those promised pumpkin fun facts. According to the people at pumpkin-patch.com, every continent except Antarctica can grow pumpkins. The squash (yes, they are a member of the Cucurbita family that also includes cucumbers) can even be grown in Alaska, despite the cold weather there.

Here's another interesting tidbit: The self-proclaimed "pumpkin capital of the world" is located in Morton, Ill., where the headquarters of Libby Corp. is located.

In response to popular demand (okay, not really), here are more interesting pumpkin facts to ponder, via pumpkin-patch.com:

• Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A.
• Pumpkin flowers are edible.
• The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
• The Connecticut field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.
• Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
• Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October.
• Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
• Native Americans called pumpkins "isqoutm squash."
• Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

Written by Tony Cantu

>>> Image via Rick Uldricks/Patch