Hundreds of lit pumpkins light up Carter Caves for second year

Carter Caves in Carter County, Ky., lit Cascade Cave with hundreds of carved pumpkins this past Friday and Saturday. The event marked the second year the park has hosted the underground Halloween display.

Park manager Paul Tierney said the attraction keeps the site busy year-round. He noted that the recent event fits that schedule. “There’s not really a slow season here at Carter Caves,” Tierney said.

Visitors walked roughly three-fourths of a mile through the caverns to see the gourds. The pumpkins lined both the floor and the walls of the cave. Designs included extra-terrestrials and characters from the Peanuts comic strip.

Many of the carved pumpkins were donated by the public. In exchange, donors received free admission to the event. This arrangement helped build the large collection of lit jack-o'-lanterns.

Chris Larsen, a pumpkin carver from Illinois, traveled to Carter County for the event. Known online as the Pumpkin Butcher, Larsen has appeared on the Food Network show Halloween Wars. He found the event through social media posts and contacted the park to participate.

Larsen described the experience as unique. “Walking through a cave and seeing hundreds of lit up jack-o’-lanterns is really cool and unique,” he said. He added that the dark, moody lighting made the pumpkins pop. Tierney said the event will probably become an annual tradition.