When the Archibald family’s historic ‘Pumpkin House’ is dressed for Halloween, it brings neighbors near and far to witness the sight.
“This house was made for this.” That’s the comment many of Jessica Archibald’s Instagram followers and in-person visitors make about the 1909 neoclassical foursquare Salt Lake City home that she and her family transform into a pumpkin palace every September. They aren’t wrong. But Jessica was also made for this. “I’m not into a lot of traditional Halloween things,” she says. “I do not like horror or gore or being scared, so it’s fun to create something totally void of classic horror elements but still have it feel captivating.”
So captivating, in fact, that thousands of people drive or walk by to appreciate “The Pumpkin House” in real life every fall.
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The home wasn’t always appreciated, though. When Archibald and her husband, Stephen, purchased it in 2020, it needed some love. The couple spent years bringing it back to its original glory, including pulling up 60-year-old carpet and refinishing floors, stripping layers of wallpaper and restoring plaster, replacing missing trim and architectural details, and bringing it up to code. And that was just inside! The exterior needed some help too…