A Rhode Island man whose wife is battling cancer is trying to raise donations for medical research this Halloween by showcasing a whopping 1,000 hand-carved pumpkins outside his home.
Tim Perry’s annual display in Cranston, which this year he is calling the “House of 1,000 Pumpkins,” features designs including classic horror characters such as Frankenstein and Freddy Krueger, the members of the Beatles and Metallica and pop culture icons like Waldo and Alfred E. Neuman.
“I used to carve real ones 20 years ago, then I discovered the craft ones about 15 years ago, and I’m like, ‘If I’m going to spend hours carving a pumpkin, these craft ones last forever,’” Perry told Fox News Digital. “So it escalated from there. I would do 10 a year, 20 a year, and then the past three years is when I went from 500 to 1,000 … during the pandemic, I was inside and just carving away.”
Perry’s wife, Sue, is fighting cancer and the display is aiming to raise donations for the American Cancer Society.
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“Last year we started doing that, we started raising for the American Cancer Society because Sue got diagnosed with cancer, so she has been battling that,” Perry said. “I feel like giving back to them because cancer – it’s coming around to everybody, you know, so everybody is going to experience it at some point in their lives, whether it’s them or their loved ones. Any research that can help find a cure for cancer, I know that’s farfetched, but we got to help somehow.”
Perry says he designs his carves on a computer before transferring the drawings over to the craft pumpkins. He then uses a hobby knife to make the cuts, with each pumpkin taking about two hours to complete.
“I’ve always been into rock, heavy metal, hard rock. A lot of these are influenced by all the bands I like, the movies I like,” Perry told Fox News Digital. “I’m a horror movie guy. I mean Rob Zombie, I always loved all his stuff, his music, his movies.”
The colorful display is illuminated by LED lights and draws visitors from around the area.
“I just hope they can enjoy it as much as I do, and they seem to, everybody that comes by always is praising it, they are thanking me all the time,” Perry said. “How they love to see it. I just hope they can enjoy it.”
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