Since the second decade of the 20th Century, the term “unusual jack-o-lanterns” has had many interpretations. That was when Halloween decorations began to include objects besides the carved and lighted pumpkin. In fact, the original non-organic jack-o-lantern, which appeared prior to 1920, seemed as though it belonged in the category described as “unusual jack-o-lanterns.”

Those original jack-o-lanterns were made of composition or pressed paper. By the 1920s, the typical jack-o-lantern had become an object made of paperboard. A few of the more unusual jack-o-lanterns from the 1920s had been formed from paper Mache.

Only a small percentage of those unusual jack-o-lanterns from the 1920s have made their way onto collectors’ shelves. They bring in a wide range of bids whenever they go on the auction block. . Such a jack-o-lantern might sell for as little as $150 or it might allow the auctioneer to raise the bid to $1,000.
The plastic jack-o-lanterns that now appear almost everywhere throughout the Halloween “season” first came on the scene in the 1950s. In some ways the plastic jack-o-lanterns could not be thought of as unusual jack-o-lanterns. They had hollow insides and a face on the outside. They were designed to hold Halloween candy.

In other aspects, the plastic jack-o-lanterns did seem like unusual jack-o-lanterns. They were much more durable than the earlier jack-o-lanterns. Amazingly, that durability did not force the user of the new, plastic jack-o-lantern to carry an extra-heavy candy-holder.

The composition of the jack-o-lantern has not become “fixed” at the presently-used material, i.e. with plastic. Those who might doubt the above statement should go to the website www. woodcraft .net. That is a web site with patterns for some truly unusual jack-o-lanterns.

Stuart Schneider has displayed some of his unusual creations on that web site. A web site such as Schneider’s, i.e. a web site for woodcrafters seems like an unusual place to find jack-o-lanterns. Any jack-o-lanterns made from wood belong with the other unusual jack-o-lanterns, because they would not seem suited for a candle with a flame.

Perhaps Schneider knows a chemist who is familiar with various flame retardants. Perhaps that chemist has developed a way to coat a wooden pumpkin, so that it would not ignite from the heat of a lit candle. A wooden jack-o-lantern with a candle illuminating the pumpkin face would certainly be an unusual sight.
Perhaps Schneider knows a chemist who is familiar with various sources of fluorescent light. Perhaps Schneider hopes to sell such objects along with his wooden pumpkins. A wooden jack-o-lantern illuminated by a fluorescing object would be an equally unusual sight.

Either sight could deliver a feeling to the beholder that he or she was viewing something rather out of the ordinary. Either sight could therefore take-on a certain level of eeriness. Either type of lighted pumpkin could rightfully belong with the other unusual jack-o-lanterns.