Every October the same picture comes back: someone in a normal outfit, standing in a field, with a carved pumpkin where their head should be. It goes by several names, and the details of where it started are fuzzier than most explainers admit. This post sets out what is documented, which song goes with it, and how a one-photo AI version such as Pumpkin Head relates to the original.
Make your pumpkin head photo
Upload one full-length photo. Your outfit and pose stay; your head becomes a glowing jack-o'-lantern.
Pumpkin Challenge, pumpkin head photoshoot or pumpkin head trend?
They are three names for one format. Know Your Meme files it as "Pumpkin Challenge / Pumpkin Head Photoshoot", Dexerto calls it the pumpkin head trend, and AI tools such as Media.io now sell a "Pumpkin Head AI Trend". The challenge label comes from the hashtag #pumpkinchallenge; the photoshoot label describes what people actually make, a short set of posed stills.
Where the pumpkin head photoshoot came from
Late 2020: the first poster is unknown
Know Your Meme is careful here: it says it is unclear who started the trend. One of the earliest known examples is a YouTube video posted by KentuckyTwinFlames Blended Family on November 1, 2020. The same creator posted it to TikTok, but that account has since been deleted. Some blogs name a specific inventor; we found no second source backing those claims, so we do not repeat them.
2021 and 2022: the challenge spreads
The look returned the following autumn as the Pumpkin Challenge. Know Your Meme records large creator posts in October 2021 and a wider revival in autumn 2022, when #pumpkinchallenge passed 69 million views. Dexerto describes it as a trend that has been popular for a while, making an appearance each October in time for Halloween.
Why it keeps coming back
The format asks for very little: one pumpkin, an outfit and somewhere open to stand. Because the face is hidden, the outfit and posture carry all the personality, which makes it easy for couples and friend groups to join in with matching or contrasting looks.
What song is the pumpkin head trend?
There is no single answer, and you should be wary of any source that gives one with total confidence.
| Source | Song named |
|---|---|
| Know Your Meme | Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber |
| Dexerto | Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett |
Oh Klahoma is also the song behind the ghost photoshoot, which Know Your Meme lists as a related trend, so the two often get mixed up. The Oakgen image is a still with no audio. If you want either track, add it in the app you post to, where its music library offers it. Oakgen does not supply or license music for this trend.
Pumpkin head photoshoot vs ghost photoshoot
Both hide the face and both run on autumn colour, but they ask different things of your photo.
| Pumpkin head | Ghost photoshoot | |
|---|---|---|
| What hides you | A carved jack-o'-lantern over the head | A white sheet down to the knees |
| What shows you | Your whole outfit, hands and stance | Only your trousers and shoes |
| Best source photo | Knee-up or full length, arms visible | Head to toe, shoes fully in frame |
| Oakgen setting | Open field at dusk, film grain | Path of orange leaves, soft daylight |
If your outfit is the point, pumpkin head suits you better. If your shoes are, the ghost photoshoot does.
Real pumpkin or AI pumpkin?
The real-life version has practical problems. A hollowed pumpkin is heavy, slippery inside and hard to see out of, and the carving takes time. The AI version skips all of that. Oakgen's template keeps the clothes, shoes and pose from one photo, replaces the head with a candlelit jack-o'-lantern, and places you in a wide field at dusk with a film-photo look.
What it does not do is just as important. It makes one person per image, with no couple mode and no scene choice, and it does not produce a video or a slideshow. For a pair, each person makes their own image and you post them together. The image is AI-made; say so in the caption, for example "Real outfit, AI pumpkin."
Make your own version
For a one-page summary of this history, see the pumpkin head AI trend origin guide. Then start with the photo: the best photo guide explains why a full-length outfit shot beats a selfie here, and the step-by-step guide walks through the upload. Once you have a result, run it past the result checklist and the caption and sound ideas. For outfit concepts and poses, read pumpkin head photoshoot ideas.
This page is not affiliated with Know Your Meme, Dexerto, the creators mentioned or the musicians named.
Frequently asked questions
Who started the pumpkin head photoshoot?
Nobody has been confirmed. Know Your Meme lists a YouTube upload by KentuckyTwinFlames Blended Family on November 1, 2020 as one of the earliest known examples, but says the first poster is unclear.
What song is used for the pumpkin head trend?
Sources disagree. Know Your Meme says the videos are often set to Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber, while Dexerto names Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett. The Oakgen image has no sound, so you choose the track in the app you post to.
Is the Pumpkin Challenge the same as the pumpkin head photoshoot?
Yes. Pumpkin Challenge, pumpkin head photoshoot and pumpkin head trend all describe the same format: a person posing outdoors with a carved pumpkin where their head should be.
Continue your project
More Halloween image trends · Halloween AI photo trends guide · AI photo trend playbook
