On a foggy October day a soggy, slimy pumpkin decomposes at the bottom of VeteranB次元官网网址檚 Memorial Parkway in Colwood.

ItB次元官网网址檚 not even Halloween yet.

Each year the pumpkin population rises in the time-honoured tradition of ditching carved pumpkins along the dark patch of roadway in the days following the haunting night.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 been here since they built the road,B次元官网网址� said Ryan Evans, Langford resident and amateur pumpkin carver. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never seen someone drop off a pumpkin. ItB次元官网网址檚 like they just appear at night time, thatB次元官网网址檚 the mystery of it. I think itB次元官网网址檚 like the inuksuks, where people stack the stones. One person does it and then it escalates from there.B次元官网网址�

For two years heB次元官网网址檚 been the grocery manager at Red Barn Market, across the street from the Jack-O-Lantern gathering.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e always liked it,B次元官网网址� said Evans. B次元官网网址淓very year we see more and more pumpkins there.B次元官网网址�

He estimates 100 carved pumpkins were dropped off on the rocks last year and expects the number to rise.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 an area of enticement. ItB次元官网网址檚 a growing community and every year more pumpkins are showing up there,B次元官网网址� agreed Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton. B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 bother me in the least. We have bigger things to worry about.B次元官网网址�

Did you know?

Mysterious pumpkin gatherings also occur on Jingle Pot Road in Nanaimo, along the highway through Cathedral Grove and a few appear on the Malahat.