Can anyone tell me the ways of carving a pumpkin Halloween style?
My birthday falls on Friday 13th so am doing a horror theme and would like to do a few pumpkins about the place. Never done one before, so thought I would seek out some professional advice.

Ha mine is on the 14th

First step is to cut off the top by stabbing down into the pumpkin, make sure to cut at an angle so the "lid" doesn't fall in.
After the top is off, remove all the seeds and pulp, the seeds can be baked up with some salt and oil and are delicious.
After it is all cleaned out, it is your blank canvas.
You can make a stencil if you want it real fancy, or just freehand it.
After it is all carved, add a candle inside to make it glow all spooky and whatnot.
Happy birthday, and have fun with it.

Cheers for the tips Poppa. Will let you know how I get on. Right now I'm thinking of dressing up Balzac style for this party of mine. Frank from Donnie Darko was my first option, but just not going to pull it off. We don't have much in the way of costume places here.

14th is cool. It's a popular time of year for birthdays. I know a few on or around the 13th and 14th.