Halloween may be over, but candy wrappers and carved pumpkins remain, reminding people of the tradition surrounding this ghoulish holiday. In the olden days people in Scotland and Ireland used to carve  frightening faces into gourds and beets, put a candle inside, and place them in house windows to ward off evil spirits around Halloween. When these people immigrated to America, the tradition continued using the native pumpkin instead of English gourds. While people no longer use jack o’ lanterns as a way to protect themselves from wandering evil spirits, pumpkin carving has become a way for people to embrace their creativity and show off their artistic side around this time of year. Here are some of Tigard high student’s carving masterpieces, as seen on Twitter and Instagram throughout the week.

Sophomore Sam Larson put in a last minute effort on the day before Halloween and came up with his pumpkin creation.

Senior Melissa Keenan continued her family’s tradition of carving pumpkins together, creating a fleet of scary faces and creative designs.

Senior Stephanie King wowed friends and followers alike with her Tinkerbell pumpkin carving.