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| “ | "Keep away from Pumpkinhead, unless you're tired of living, His enemies are mostly dead, He's mean and unforgiving, Laugh at him and you're undone, But in some dreadful fashion, Vengeance, he considers fun, And plans it with a passion, Time will not erase or blot, A plot that he has brewing, It's when you think that he's forgot, He'll conjure your undoing, Bolted doors and windows barred, Guard dogs prowling in the yard, Won't protect you in your bed, Nothing will, from Pumpkinhead!" | „ |
| ~ Ed Justin reciting the Pumpkinhead poem. |
Pumpkinhead, also called the Demon of Vengeance or simply Vengeance, is a fictional character featured in the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead, along with its three sequels Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings, Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes, and Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud. The original creature was designed by Stan Winston, who also designed the "Alien Queen" in Aliens. Pumpkinhead was portrayed by Tom Woodruff, Jr., who also portrayed numerous other fictional monsters in films such as Aliens, in the original 1988 film and later by Mark McCracken in the sequel, although was not credited. Pumpkinhead was later portrayed by Bob Gunter in the last two sequels in 2006 and 2007 distributed by Syfy, although Gunter, like McCracken, was not credited. The costume of Pumpkinhead used in the original 1988 film was most likely burned and disposed after making of the film, as the creature burst into flames at the end of the film after Ed Harley was killed. Although, the costume used in the sequels by Syfy is for sale at a movie collectibles website known as Prop Store.
In the Pumpkinhead films, the demon can be conjured by a summoner (or summoners) to exact revenge on anyone who wronged them by viciously and painfully killing them. The targets are "marked" for death and no matter where they go, Pumpkinhead will always find them. As the 'marked ones' die, the summoner(s) will begin to feel both the physical and emotional pain that the victims of Pumpkinhead feel. And they will begin to see the grisly murders being performed through the demon's eyes. Pumpkinhead also feels any pain that its conjurer feels (except for the pain that they feel from Pumpkinhead's victims). Hence, the only way to kill the creature is to kill its conjurer(s). The more summoners there are in the ritual, the bigger and stronger Pumpkinhead will be. This is most notable in the third film, where as each summoner was killed, Pumpkinhead appeared to get shorter until he was at his regular height. If anyone stops Pumpkinhead, their soul will be cursed with damnation. And the only way to cleanse it is to allow the next Pumpkinhead that's summoned to kill them. If there are any surviving targets from the previous summoning, Pumpkinhead will first go after those targets and finish its previous assignment before moving on to the new one.
In the original 1988 film, Pumpkinhead was first conjured by a man named Edward "Ed" Harley, who desired for vengeance after his son was accidentally killed by a teenager on a motorcycle named Joel. However, in the beginning of the film, Pumpkinhead is seen twenty years ago when Ed was only a boy and murdered a man who had been begging Ed's father to save him from the creature. Pumpkinhead murdered the man shortly after Ed's father refused to save him. It is unknown how the creature came to needing to be conjured to live. Either this or Ed Harley was not the first to conjure Pumpkinhead (which is true), despite the films stating so.
Characteristics
Appearance
Pumpkinhead has pale skin and has a large head with multiple lumps and pale white eyes with reptilian-like pupils and no irises in the 1988 film. The large head and the fact that he is buried in a pumpkin patch give the creature its name. Rather than having a nose, the creature has nostrils which follow the wrinkled design skin design above its mouth. The creature is completely hairless and has a large mouth with varying pointed and human-like teeth. There are two small pointed teeth on either side of the creature's lower jaw. The creature has a wrinkled neck with clearly visible blood veins and large bulbous objects that sprout from its shoulders. There are also bulbous objects that sprout from the creature's elbows and extra joints on its legs. Pumpkinhead has long arms with four fingered clawed hands, which are its primary weapons. Pumpkinhead has a torso with a rib cage-like design and two muscles underneath its chest which replace its abs. There are two extremely small bulbous objects that sprout from the creature's hips above its digitigrade legs. The creature's legs are large and muscular with extra joints. Pumpkinhead has three-toed feet with thick dinosaur-like claws. The creature's extra joints are larger than the other joints in its legs and sprout another pair of bulbous objects that actually resemble that of small pumpkins. Pumpkinhead has a long tail with a fin-like spike at the end. In the 1994 sequel, the creature's eyes are changed to completely pale bloodshot eyes with no pupils and all of its teeth are sharp.
In the last two sequels, Pumpkinhead's design is changed because there is a different costume used for the films. The creature's head is smaller and its teeth are yellow. The creature apprears more muscular and has a more human-like posture. The creature's upper body is notably more muscular and the creature is larger, although seems to shrink as its conjurers are killed. The creature's skin is a rotten green color and its bulbous objects that sprout from its shoulders, elbows, hips, and extra joints are replaced with sharp spikes. The creature's hands are smaller with black claws and the fin-like spike on the creature's tail is changed to resemble its spikes, making it more resemble a devil or demon. This could be related to it having more summoners (though this is unconfirmed).
Personality/Behavior
Pumpkinhead embodies the conjurer(s)' hate, desire for vengeance, and their unforgiving of their wrongdoers. This makes Pumpkinhead an unforgiving monster who brutally kills people. He appears to enjoy the agony he puts his victims through and sometimes it appears to lets its targets escape him deliberately, just to draw out his 'cat and mouse' game even longer, just for his victim's suffering and his amusement.
As a revenge demon, Pumpkinhead's priority is to make its victims have painful deaths. Pumpkinhead is sadistic and will in fact go out of its way to make its killings more horrible. Pumpkinhead cannot be distracted from its task, though usually only kills at night (for unknown reasons), thus taking breaks in its mission. The demon will not kill random people in its way (Often seeming to resent this fact when coming across non-targeted humans), unless they try to stop it, in which case he has no qualms with murdering them too.
History
Pumpkinhead
The first known summoning of Pumpkinhead occurs before the film takes place. Little details are revealed about it, but what is known about it is that it was summoned to take revenge on a man named Clayton Heller (and possibly others) for the death of a girl. The demon was apparently summoned by 'them' (possibly the girl's relatives) to kill Clayton, despite him insisting that he didn't murder the girl. The demon (unseen) chases Clayton through town and he arrives at the Harley's farm when Ed was a boy. He frantically knocks on the door and begs to be let in, but is denied by Tom Harley (Ed's father) while Ellie (Ed's mother) consoles Ed. Despite threatening him with a rifle, Clayton insists on being let in, even going as far as saying "What kind of Christian are you!?" (implying the Harleys were Christians and that Tom and Clayton had some sort of friendship). Pumpkinhead catches up to Clayton and kills him while Ed watches through a window.
Many years later, Ed now has a son named Billy and a deceased wife named Betty Lynn, who died in 1978. After Billy is accidentally killed by one of a group of camping teenagers named Joel on a motorcycle, Ed realizes that there is no hope for his dead boy and visits the witch of the woods Haggis that evening in hopes that she can bring him back to life. However, when Haggis reveals that he cannot bring back the dead, Ed digs up Pumpkinhead's dead disfigured corpse from the pumpkin patch graveyard and brings it back to Haggis' cabin where she cuts Ed and Billy's hands and pours the blood over the creature's corpse. Pumpkinhead begins to move and come to life. Pumpkinhead becomes larger and more monster-like as Ed faints.
Later that night, Pumpkinhead sets out to kill the teenagers and watches Maggie and Steve as Steve tries to convince her to have faith. Pumpkinhead then grabs Steve from behind and kills him right before dropping him from a tree as Maggie watches in horror. As the rest of the teenagers search for Steve, the creature grabs Maggie, drags her away, and kills her. While the teenagers are back in the cabin, Pumpkinhead slams Maggie's head against the window above the sink and slams it through the window right after rubbing it against the window. Pumpkinhead then enters the cabin where Joel confronts it with a knife. However, Pumpkinhead swats him aside and drags Kim off outside where it kills her and drops her from a tree.
Pumpkinhead prepares to kill Joel.
When Joel and the remaining teenagers arrive to ask the locals for help, Pumpkinhead arrives to kill them. However, Ed shoots it after realizing that what had done is wrong. The shooting seems to work and Pumpkinhead falls to the ground. When Joel kicks the creature in the head to ensure that it is dead, Pumpkinhead grabs his leg and gets up. Pumpkinhead, now having Joel pinned to the ground, takes his riffle and impales him with it. After Joel dies, Pumpkinhead lifts his dead twice while staring at his dead body. When a dog bites Ed on the arm, Pumpkinhead feels the pain and growls in agony.
The remaining teenagers, Chris and Tracy, escape to an abandoned church with a local boy named Bunt Wallis who explains Pumpkinhead's legend. Soon, Pumpkinhead arrives at the church. But, the three escape. As Pumpkinhead walks through the ruins of the church, he finds a wooden christian cross and destroys it, as Pumpkinhead is a demon and hates anything Holy. Pumpkinhead eventually tracks them down and removes a part of the engine from Chris' motorcycle. Hence, Pumpkinhead attacks Chris and throws him against a tree. Pumpkinhead drags Chris' body to the Harley's house where Ed, Tracy, and Bunt have taken shelter. Pumpkinhead enters the house after Ed and Tracy escape. Pumpkinhead, at first, does not find Bunt hiding in the house. Pumpkinhead then turns around in a flash after preparing to exit the house and finds Bunt.
Pumpkinhead's face becomes more human-like.
Pumpkinhead then leaves the house and prepares to kill Bunt. When Ed prepares to kill Pumpkinhead, he accidentally stabs himself in the arm with a pitchfork, this forces Pumpkinhead to cry out in pain and release Bunt. Pumpkinhead begins to gaze at Ed as its face becomes more human and Ed like the creature's. Hence, Ed realizes that the only way to kill Pumpkinhead is to kill himself. Pumpkinhead then grabs Tracy by the neck and prepares to kill her. However, Ed shoots himself in the head with a handgun, which causes both Pumpkinhead and Ed to collapse to the ground.
However, Ed survives and Pumpkinhead awakes to grab Bunt again. As Pumpkinhead holds Bunt upside down, Ed begs Tracy to kill him with the gun. Tracy shoots Ed which causes Pumpkinhead to releases Bunt and collapse to the ground while growling in agony. Pumpkinhead takes one last deep breath before dying and bursting into flames. Ed's disfigured corpse is then placed in Pumpkinhead's grave in the pumpkin patch graveyard by Haggis while still wearing the necklace that Billy made for him. Hence, Pumpkinhead will take form through Ed's corpse when it is conjured again.
Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings
- See also: Tommy
Tommy with a Pumpkinhead-like form as he appears in Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings.
The sequel has extremely little to nothing to do with the first or any of the other films. Instead of having Pumpkinhead or Haggis, it instead features Thomas (referred to as "Tommy" in the film). Tommy is apparently the son of Pumpkinhead; born as a result of Pumpkinhead mating with a currently unknown human female under unknown circumstances. Tommy is an orphan who is adopted and cared for by an old blind woman named 'Ms. Osie'. Osie herself is highly hinted to be a witch of some kind and who shares a similar bond with Tommy to the bond between Pumpkinhead and its summoner(s), seeming to feel each other's pain. When Tommy is resurrected, he has a body similar to that of his father's, making him able to commit the same grisly murders as the original Pumpkinhead. Although, unlike the original, Ms. Osie's death does not kill Tommy, nor does he seem to be visibly effected by it (although he is able to sense it). He also seemed to actually grieve and become enraged at her death, making him the only demon in the series to display such feelings towards its summoner. Tommy is also the only form of the demon to show any kind of mercy. He spared Jenny a grisly death, as he realized that she was actually Sean's daughter. Because before his death, Tommy befriended Sean. And truthfully, Jenny was innocent in Ms. Osie's death (which was why it went after her and her friends; for hurting Ms. Osie and refusing to help save her). Tommy is also the only Pumpkinhead that's actually killed with regular means, able to be harmed with guns (unlike his father, who's body is impervious to physical harm).
In 1958 in Ferren Woods, a small backwater town, an old blind witch, Ms. Osier, feeds a deformed orphan named Tommy; he is the offspring of Pumpkinhead. As Tommy eats, a car of six teens pull up and notice him. Convinced that he is some demonic monster, they chase him with switchblade knives and baseball bats; eventually, they corner him at an old iron mine, where they bludgeon him and drop him down into the mine, killing him. 35 years later, Sheriff Sean Braddock, his wife, and his daughter Jenny have come into town. Sean grew up in Ferren Woods and returned when offered a job as the local sheriff. At school, Jenny meets a group of wild kids, one of whom is Daniel "Danny" Dixon, whose dad, (who was one of the teens who had taken part in Tommy's murder 35 years ago), is the town judge. The teens sneak off one night and pilfer Sean's car. Danny inadvertently hits Ms. Osie, and when they go to her cabin to check on her, they find a spellbook and vials of blood, which she is planning to resurrect Tommy with. After Ms. Osie catches them, she orders them out. Danny knocks her down and escapes with a vial of blood.
Danny and his friends attempt to resurrect Tommy's corpse. Jenny notices Ms. Osie's cabin on fire and Danny and his friends flee. Ms. Osie is badly burnt and ends up in the hospital. Unbeknownst to Danny and his friends, the spell they'd attempted worked, resurrecting Tommy in the form of Pumpkinhead. Soon, Judge Dixon's friends begin to meet grisly deaths. Jenny's father investigates and begins to come to terms with the fact that Tommy is responsible for the murders. Ms. Osie dies, but not before revealing to Sean some clues. Sean discovers the connection between the victims and Pumpkinhead, realizing that the judge is next.
Judge Dixon calls his posse to assist him in killing whatever is murdering his friends. Before they can arrive however, Pumpkinhead brutally murders Judge Dixon. Now that Tommy has avenged his own death, he begins going after Danny and his friends. Sean and the town doctor go into the woods to find Jenny. By this time, Pumpkinhead (Tommy) has murdered Danny and his 3 friends. He then chases Jenny to the iron mine. Since Sean had saved his life years earlier as a boy, and because Jenny was innocent of hurting Ms. Osie, Tommy allows Jenny to step down to her father safe and sound. However, the judge's posse arrives and shoots Tommy back into the mine, where he had died 35 years earlier.
Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes
Pumpkinhead as it appears in the last two installments.
The third movie was more loyal to the first movie in terms of story and focused on how the townspeople became enraged at a local mortician stealing and selling the organs of their loved ones before disposing of their bodies in the swamp rather than cremating them: seeking vengeance they have Haggis (a witch who appears in many of the movies) summon Pumpkinhead once more via reviving the mummified remains of Harley - the reanimated Pumpkinhead then proceeds to exact a brutal revenge on all responsible for the desecration. At the same time a character by the name of Doc Fraiser rushes to kill those who summoned Pumpkinhead so as to kill the demon before things get totally out of hand.
Pumpkinhead: Blood Feud
The final installment of the series is a 2007 made-for-television sequel. The film begins with two men on their motorcycles driving away from Pumpkinhead. One of the men hits a tree branch in their path, falling from his motorcycle and allowing Pumpkinhead to catch up to him. As the man is being killed, the film cuts to a man in a log cabin who seems to share the pain inflicted by Pumpkinhead on the fallen man. The surviving man, named Dallas, rides to the log cabin, and the man who conjured Pumpkinhead, begging him to call the demon off. Pumpkinhead smashes through the window and Dallas attempts to fend him off by shooting him with a small pistol with little effect, and is clawed in the chest by the demon. When Dallas realizes that his bullets have no effect on Pumpkinhead, he swears to take the summoner with him, shooting the man and killing him, causing Pumpkinhead to vanish. Ed Harley then appears telling Dallas that Pumpkinhead will return and there will be no place to hide.
Five years later we are shown the family of the Hatfields and McCoys ongoing feud started because of a car in the 30's. The Hatfields then trash the McCoy wedding. Jody Hatfield sneaks out to see her true love, Ricky McCoy. Ricky brings his sister, Sarah, to look out for him and Jody. The two then start to make out.
Jody's brothers find and kill Sarah by accident and try to kill Ricky. Ricky then finds his sister's body and goes to Haggis for help. Haggis tells him of the price it costs to summon Pumpkinhead and Haggis is shown talking to Ed Harley's spirit. Haggis states that her choice does not matter in the end; only the summoner may make the decision to kill Pumpkinhead. The two invoke Pumpkinhead to kill the Hatfields.
At the end of the film most of the Hatfields are killed, as well as some of the McCoy family. Ricky realizes what he has done and takes Pumpkinhead with him to fall down a well. This is the first film in the franchise that does not imply that Pumpkinhead is still alive.
Pumpkinhead: The Rites of Exorcism
Pumpkinhead as it appears on the cover of Pumpkinhead: The Rites of Exorcism #2.
The creature appears in two issues of the comic book series "Pumpkinhead: The Rites of Exorcism" published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993. A third issue was originally going to include the appearance of a winged version of Pumpkinhead, but the third issue was never officially released.
Powers
- Supernatural Strength: Pumpkinhead's physical strength is immense, as he is shown able to drag a log easily like a broom to block the church's exit as well as overpower multiple foes. He can lift over 7 tons.
- Invulnerability-Level Healing Factor: Pumkinhead's body is seemingly impervious against anything, as it cannot be killed/harmed by conventional means or weapons. Even if he injured, the would would instantly regenerate. The only way to stop it was kill those whom summon it.
- Tracking: No matter wherever his targets hiding, Pumpkinhead can find them easily.
- Intelligence: Although incapable of speaking English, Pumpkinhead is deceptively smarter than he appears. Pumpkinhead was able to smash and trash the cars and bikes of the teens to prevent them from escaping him. In this scene, he appears to let out something of an evil laugh. He also seems to know how to use the environment in his hunt of the 'marked ones'. He also faked being hurt by Joel's rifle to get him to let his guard down. He also blocked the exit to a church to prevent anyone from escaping.
- Storm Conjuring: Pumpkinhead's mere presence seems able to bring very powerful storms and winds. It is unknown if this is intentional or just an unconditional side power. Tommy also displays this ability.
Weapons
- Claws: Pumpkinhead's main weapons are his claws. His claws are extremely strong, able to easily rip apart flesh and bone and other inorganic materials.
- Tail: Pumpkinhead's tail has a large sharp barb used for impaling victims.
- The Environment: Like many other slasher villains such as Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers, Pumpkinhead is extremely smart and resourceful, so he uses many objects around his surroundings in his killings of the marked ones. Although he has only killed two people using actual weapons: he kills Joel by impaling him with a rifle, and a Hatfield is killed when he stabs him in the mouth with a hunting knife he was holding.
List of Pumpkinheads
Opening Man's Pumpkinhead
The first Pumpkinhead shown in the franchise. It was summoned to kill Clayton Heller for his supposed role in the death of a girl. It murders Heller and Ed Harley witnesses the murder through the window as a child. No further details are specified about this Pumpkinhead.
Edward Harley's Pumpkinhead
The main Pumpkinhead of the first film is summoned by Ed Harley to get revenge on the teenagers responsible for the accidental murder of his son Billy Harley. This Pumpkinhead is killed by Tracey when she shoots and kills Ed. Ed's corpse is later used as a new vessel for Pumpkinhead in future films. It is unknown who this Pumpkinhead is, possibly the one who summoned it in the beginning of the film.
Ed Harley
Edward Harley's corpse is used as a vessel for Pumpkinhead in the third and fourth films.
Thomas Parnell
The 'Pumpkinhead' used in the second film is the corpse of a deformed orphan named Thomas Parnell (known as "Tommy" in the film). Tommy is resurrected by "Ms. Osie", who was his caretaker in life. Because 35 years prior, Tommy was brutally murdered in the woods by a motor gang of teenagers called the Red Wings. The reason for his murder being that the drunken teens believed Tommy to be a demonic creature of sorts. Most of the details of the ritual are unknown. But the Pumpkinhead part is caused by the meddling of a group of teens who stumble upon it (one of which was the son of one of the teens responsible for Tommy's murder).
Location and legend
Stay away from Pumpkinhead
Unless you're tired of living
His enemies are mostly dead
He's mean and unforgiving
Locked doors and windows barred
Guard dogs prowling in your yard
Won't protect you in your bed
Nothing will from Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead is a legend around his country, so that nearly all the inhabitants of his town have heard of him, and know what is necessary to bring him forth. Though the Pumpkinhead was seen hunting an unidentified man in a flashback during the beginning of the first Pumpkinhead movie, many townsfolk say Ed Harley, the main summoner was the one who "started it".
The country in which Pumpkinhead takes place changes between movies, perhaps signifying different parts of town (Or simply continuity problems). In the first Pumpkinhead film, people are seen in a dirty town, covered with mud and populated with the undereducated. The 3rd and 4th installments take place in a more quaint, classic country town. Pumpkinhead 2, which may have nothing to do with the other films, focuses on a town more modernized, though still rural.
Behind the scenes
Pumpkinhead was inspired by the early creations of the first films' writers, his name taken from a poem by Ed Justin (Which is an elongated version of the film's poem). The creature was designed by Stan Winston's effects team (With very little help from the man himself), after Winston and the filmmakers strongly clarified that they did not indeed want a creature with a literal pumpkin on its head. Remarkably, the Pumpkinhead suit in the first film required very few extras and special doubles, having a greatly possible expression and body.
Video Game Appearances
Terrordrome
Pumpkinhead's character select render
Pumpkinhead is a playable character in Terrordrome.
Story Mode: Once again, the Demon of Vengeance has been summoned; with a new prey to hunt down. But chasing Another Demon was rather unusual. Nevermind; nothing would stop Pumpkinhead in his task.]
Ending: After summoning Pumpkinhead to help him fight Pinhead; Ash realized he was in trouble...again. Ash though that if the Necronomicon could summon this thing, it could certainly destroy it too. The book opened a vortex; and as invincible as he was, Pumpkinhead wasn't strong enough to fight it and was swallowed into it. But someone wasn't happy Ash fooled Pumpkinhead. So she raised a new demon to get revenge. Now a new demon was chasing Ash; taller and stronger. And nothing would save him. Nothing would, from Pumpkinhead.
List of opponents fought in order:
Candyman
Chucky
Michael Myers
Jason Voorhees (undead)
Leatherface
Tall Man
Freddy Krueger
Maniac Cop
Jason Voorhees
Ghostface
Pinhead
Pumpkinhead´s murders
*see* List of deaths in Pumpkinhead series
Trivia
- His body shape shares a striking resemblance to Alien from the Alien vs Predator franchise
Gallery
- The Pumpkinhead Wiki has a collection of images related to Pumpkinhead (character)
Videos
