Oak Island woman turns gourds into ghouls every Halloween

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Muriel Nelson has lived on Oak Island for 30 years and has been creating creatures out of gourds for as long as she can remember.

The 91-year-old has turned imperfect pumpkins into ghosts using an old sheet, raccoons using a kid’s Halloween mask, and a coronavirus-themed ghoul named “Rona” with a wig and cherry tomatoes.

Muriel Nelson and her goblin gourd “Bodwyn” (Photo: Contributed)

Nelson says most of the inspiration comes from the pumpkins themselves for all the quirky characters she comes up with.

“When I see a pumpkin, I know what goblin is trying to get out,” Nelson said.

While the pumpkins, and the goblins inside, may speak to her, Nelson says she loves when people in the stores help her figure out what creature to create.

Her neighbors on Oak Island get a kick out of her creations. She says a father and son were walking down her street and wanted to admire this year’s ghoul when they asked its name.

“All of a sudden, it came to me. This is ‘Bodwyn.’ He’s sort of a perky, British duke, in another life,” Nelson said.

Her late husband, Jim, also had an eye for eerie creatures.  Her favorite, which she does not have a photo of, is one the two came up with years ago — a pumpkin windsurfer.

For anyone trying to get creative, Nelson has advice on how you can create your own front yard ghouls.

“Look for differences. If you can’t find any, multiply the number of pumpkins. Sometimes you can get strange combinations like a snowman pumpkin wearing a scarf,” Nelson said. “Get different sizes and decide which is going to be the body, chest, head, and hat. And you can use things like mums for hair.”