hink you know the latest tricks for carving a creepy pumpkin? The pros continue to push the barriers.

A handful of people become professional pumpkin carvers each fall, specializing in fantastical designs. Among them are Alex Wer, self-styled “Pumpkin Geek,” who lives near Sacramento, Calif.; Scott Cummins, a Perryton, Texas, middle-school art teacher; and Marc Evan and Chris Soria, the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers of New York City.

Wer does his carving between insurance sales and an evening package-delivery route. He works with the fake, foam pumpkins sold at craft stores, so his intricate work has longevity. Evan and Soria drop their jobs as illustrators for a few months to carve pumpkins for festivals, parties and individual clients. The long hours leave the two childhood friends battling sore wrists and aching backs by late November.