It's not a scene from a Halloween movie, though the internet has certainly treated it like one. A two-story inflatable jack-o'-lantern broke free at a North Carolina farm and went tumbling down the road.
The giant pumpkin, complete with black triangle eyes and a lopsided grin, got loose on Sunday at Phillips Farm in Cary, as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias swept through, the Associated Press reported.
Blown Away
A tornado warning was in effect that afternoon, and a twister reportedly touched down about a quarter mile away, so workers initially left the pumpkin deflated. When the sun came out, owner Michael Phillips' father, Lee Phillips, decided to blow it up.
Then the wind came back. Gusts of roughly 35 to 40 mph caught the pumpkin and sent it rolling along a post-and-rail fence, past a church and down the road. Workers wrangled it in about a minute, and Phillips said no one was ever in danger.
Instant Internet Fame
Videos of the runaway pumpkin spread fast. Phillips told the AP he's getting 80 to 150 notifications a day, and some people have turned the clips into memes showing the pumpkin as an alien creature attacking the city. He called it the best advertising the farm could ask for.
Now It's Not Going Anywhere
These days the pumpkin is lashed down with paracord, baling twine and corkscrew spikes, and it's tied to two tractors. With about six weeks left in hurricane season, Phillips isn't taking chances. He joked that it won't go anywhere unless the tractors fly away.