Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves has officially made Halloween history after turning a 3,156-pound pumpkin into the world’s heaviest jack-o’-lantern.
Graves unveiled the enormous creation in Salem, Massachusetts, this week as the city celebrates its 400th anniversary. Guinness World Records confirmed the new title after the pumpkin was carved into a massive Halloween display featuring witches, skeletons, bats and plenty of Raising Cane’s touches.
The pumpkin itself was already a record holder before Graves got his hands on it.
The Pumpkin Was Already the World’s Heaviest
The giant pumpkin was grown by legendary giant-pumpkin grower Ron Wallace and weighed 3,156 pounds when it won the heaviest pumpkin title at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off earlier this month.
Graves then obtained the pumpkin and brought it to Salem, where it was transformed into an enormous jack-o’-lantern for Halloween.
The carving was a massive undertaking. Graves, his daughter Sophia, and professional carvers Eric Jones, Monique Hawk and William Wilson spent 32 hours working on the pumpkin, according to Guinness World Records.
The finished pumpkin features a giant skeleton, a witch with a distinctive knobby nose, and flying bats. It also includes Raising Cane’s-inspired details, including crinkle-cut fries and a bubbling cauldron of Cane’s Sauce, because one thing Cane’s knows how to do impeccably well is branding.
The team even incorporated scraps from the carving into three-dimensional decorations around the pumpkin rather than letting the material go to waste.
For Graves, the project was about more than putting the Raising Cane’s logo on a giant pumpkin. Guinness World Records reports that he has dreamed of holding a record since he was a child, making this his first official Guinness title.
It Beat the Previous Jack-o’-Lantern Record by Hundreds of Pounds
The new jack-o’-lantern easily surpassed the previous Guinness World Records title. The previous record was held by Travis Gienger, whose 2023 jack-o’-lantern weighed 2,749 pounds. That pumpkin was nicknamed “Michael Jordan.”
Graves’ creation weighs 407 pounds more. Guinness adjudicator Michael Empric confirmed that the pumpkin still weighed the original 3,156 pounds after the carving was complete, officially making it the world’s heaviest jack-o’-lantern.
“This was absolutely one of the more impressive GWR titles I’ve seen broken,” Empric said.
Salem Was the Perfect Place for the Record
The record-breaking pumpkin was unveiled at Salem Common as the Massachusetts city celebrates its 400th anniversary.
Salem is already one of the country’s most recognizable Halloween destinations thanks to its history, annual Haunted Happenings festival and connection to the infamous 1692 witch trials. Guinness World Records reports that the city’s October celebrations attract more than two million visitors.
The event also brought some familiar Halloween faces to Salem.
Halloweentown stars Kimberly J. Brown, who played Marnie Piper, and Daniel Kountz, who played Kal, were among those attending the celebration, along with Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo and Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Empric.
The enormous jack-o’-lantern will remain on display through Nov. 1. After Halloween, Guinness says the pumpkin will be chopped up and donated to a New Hampshire farm to be used as pig feed.
