INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Tom Hanks’ Hilarious David Pumpkins Is The ‘SNL’ King Of Halloween, And He Makes Great Costume Inspiration

By Treva Bowdoin
Published on: 02:16 PST, Oct 23, 2016

Tom Hanks played Fox News Channel host Chris Wallace during last night’s episode of SNL, but the actor’s biggest challenge wasn’t moderating the final presidential debate between Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump and Kate McKinnon’s Hillary Clinton — it was convincing McKinnon and Beck Bennett that a kooky Halloween-themed character named David Pumpkins is just as spooky as severed heads and creepy ghost girls with greasy black hair.

As the A.V. Club points out, Tom Hanks “has never lost his inner goofball,” so the nine-time SNL host fully embraced playing a silly original character named David Pumpkins, the ghost with the most absurd method of trying to scare patrons of a Halloween-themed amusement park attraction. SNL players Kate McKinnon and Beck Bennett were looking for thrills and chills when they boarded “100 Floors of Frights,”a haunted hotel elevator operated by Kenan Thompson. However, they were less than impressed by a few of the frights that Thompson revealed by opening the elevator doors on different floors.

“Hold on for dear death!” Thompson warned as the ride began.

The first two floors featured typical haunted house frights: a ghostly bride who committed suicide and a chef with a severed head on a platter. However, things got batty when Thompson opened the door for a third time to reveal Tom Hanks dressed up as a corny character wearing a suit and tie with a jack-o’-lantern pattern. The bonkers Beetlejuice knockoff was flanked by two silly skeletons wearing fuzzy white hats.

“How’s it hanging? I’m David Pumpkins, and I’m going to scare the hell out of you,” Hanks informed the elevator passengers.

However, McKinnon and Bennett’s scare-seekers were confused, not creeped out, after David S. Pumpkins and his bony backup dancers busted a few moves. The cartoonish characters were so out-of-place that the elevator passengers had a hard time focusing on the haunted hotel’s other frights, and they began quizzing Thompson’s elevator operator about who David Pumpkins was and why he was such a big part of the attraction. Thompson responded by saying that “the scariest thing to the mind is the unknown,” and you can see whether Mr. Pumpkins actually succeeded in scaring anyone in the video clip below.

During last night’s episode of SNL, Tom Hanks also gave the United States a much-needed pep talk as “America’s Dad;” he played “Black Jeopardy” as a Trump supporter; and he reprised his role as Captain “Sully” Sullenberger, the hero airplane pilot responsible for making the “Miracle on the Hudson” happen. However, Twitter was most impressed with Hanks’ Halloween character.

Some Twitter users loved Tom Hanks’ weirdly wonderful character so much that they’re already looking forward to watching the David Pumpkins movie next Halloween.

Other SNL fans compared Tom Hanks’ David Pumpkins to Larry David’s Kevin Roberts, another kooky character who likes to wear orange.

Unsurprisingly, David Pumpkins already has his own Twitter account.

Tom Hanks also helped some SNL viewers choose their 2016 Halloween costumes. One Twitter user discovered that Rubie’s Costume Company produces a “Men’s Pumpkin Tuxedo” like the one worn by David Pumpkins. Spirit Halloween also sells an “Adult Pumpkin Party Suit.” OppoSuits reached out to the Inquisitr with a link to their creation, the Pumpking.

If you decide to dress up like Tom Hanks’ David S. Pumpkin for Halloween, just make sure that you practice his spastic hand dance, and don’t forget your skeleton sidekicks.

[Featured Image by NBC/YouTube]

Share this article: Tom Hanks’ Hilarious David Pumpkins Is The ‘SNL’ King Of Halloween, And He Makes Great Costume Inspiration
tom hanks Halloween
More from Inquisitr