Drawing Horror - Pumpkinhead

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.