Pumpkin sculptors go 'gross and evil' for Halloween

Zombie pumpkins took over New York's Botanical Garden on Tuesday as carvers got creative in the lead up to Halloween.

Sculptors carved a zombie pumpkin harvest in a display that used some of the world's largest pumpkins.

Each year, the top three heaviest pumpkins in the world are identified by an organising body called the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.

They are then brought to the Botanical Garden, in the Bronx borough of New York City.

This year all three of the chosen pumpkins were above 1800 pounds (816 kilograms).

Pieces of the enormous pumpkins were carved up, along with some smaller pumpkins, over several days to create the elaborate Halloween tableaux.

"I just cut a head-size chunk out of this 1800 pound pumpkin and just whittled it away into this zombie head just like I was whittling wood, just sculpting as I go," said pumpkin sculptor Andy Bergholtz.

His aim: to make it as "gross and evil looking as I can".

The pumpkins themselves added there own fiendish twist to the display - decomposition.

Sculptors had to spray each piece with water to keep them fresh and organisers hoping the stars of the show do not not rot before Halloween.