We can’t claim credit for the idea — we saw it on social media sites — but the image of a pineapple turned into a jack-o’-lantern screamed Halloween with local attitude. And the sword-shaped leaves of its crown, mottled skin and yellow insides definitely set it apart from every pumpkin in the patch.

Creating your own pine-o’-lantern is easy. Tools are important. You need a long, sturdy knife for chopping up the fruit, a small, thin serrated knife for carving the face and something to scoop out the flesh — the scoopers that come with pumpkin-carving kits work just fine.

Instructions

1. Cut off the top of the pineapple about 2 inches below the crown.

2. To hollow out the inside, use a long knife to carefully cut around the yellow fruit. Then score the flesh all the way to the bottom of the pineapple to make smaller pieces to scoop out. Expect a juicy mess. Continue cutting and scooping until you reach the bottom.

3. Use a thin serrated knife to cut out eyes, nose and mouth. (We used a tomato knife.) Since the pineapple skin is more pliable than a pumpkin’s, go slow or you could easily cut too much — we nearly lost a tooth!

4. Place tea lights or other candles or a glow stick inside to light up your pine-o’-lantern.