A giant inflatable pumpkin rolled toward an Uber driver yelling ‘it’s gonna hit us,’ and days later another one escaped in Iowa

Oversized Halloween inflatables have become a fixture on farms and downtown streets every October, but most of them stay tied down. Two giant inflatable pumpkins broke loose in two different states within days of each other this week, and both runaway decorations were caught on camera, according to BroBible.

The first inflatable pumpkin escaped on Sunday from Phillips Farms of Cary in North Carolina, which was hosting its annual Pumpkinfest. Video posted by the farm shows the massive orange decoration rolling down a road and heading straight toward an Uber driver. “It’s gonna hit us,” the driver can be heard saying as the pumpkin bounces closer to the car.

Phillips Farms leaned into the moment on its TikTok account, @phillipsfarmsofcary, joking that Pumpkinfest went a little off kilter but that the farm still had a “gourdgeous” Sunday. The farm also thanked Uber for helping bring its runaway pumpkin home. The clip has since spread well beyond the farm’s own followers.

The runaway pumpkin videos have viewers joking about Charlie Brown and Indiana Jones

The North Carolina clip shows the pumpkin tumbling along the road while a woman inside the car anxiously urges the driver to back up. The driver stays calm and narrates as the giant inflatable rolls closer. Once the pumpkin finally stops, the video shows a man walking over to help wrangle it.

Commenters had plenty of fun with the footage, as many found the contrast between the anxious passenger and the calm driver hilarious. One viewer wrote “OH GOURD HE COMIN,” while another asked what the plan was as the man headed toward the pumpkin. A self-described insurance claims rep said this would be a new one, and another person wondered how anyone would explain the damage to their insurance company.

Others pointed to pop culture. One commenter said Charlie Brown never warned anyone about the Great Pumpkin trying to escape, while others compared the scene to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and the boulder chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, a few viewers said they winced when the pumpkin appeared to brush against overhead wires, and one person said they were there when it happened.

The second runaway inflatable pumpkin appeared Tuesday afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa. Local resident Pam McCarron told KCRG that the jack-o’-lantern suddenly rolled in front of her car as she was driving to work. “It’s big enough where I couldn’t see around it to know if there was anything on the other side,” Pam McCarron said.

Dubuque police Lt. Luke Bock, who reviewed traffic camera footage of the incident, said the video is entertaining to watch. “It’s funny to watch it, but you think about what could have happened. What if?” Luke Bock said. Most Halloween disputes stay inside the neighborhood, such as when an HOA tried to gatekeep Halloween from nearby kids, but these decorations took the drama onto the road.

Runaway inflatable pumpkins have made headlines before. In 2024, dashcam video from the Bay Village Police Department in Ohio showed a giant pumpkin engulfing an officer and sliding into his cruiser after a gust of wind. However, the department said no officers or pumpkins were harmed, and the decoration was returned to its owner.

With Halloween about two weeks away, more oversized inflatables are likely to go up, and police may urge owners to secure them more tightly before the next windy day.