Dracula – the Mischievous AI Grill Pumpkin for Halloween

Meet Dracula, the cheekiest pumpkin in the world — half machine, half mischief, and powered by AI magic.

He’s not your ordinary Halloween decoration: Dracula talks, reacts, and even grills with attitude.

With uncanny LCD eyes, glowing horns, a robotic arm that roasts a tiny orange ghost over flickering WS2812 "flames", and a bold personality that can answer any of your questions you may have, which makes it more than anyone else — this pumpkin truly comes alive.

Please note that this design incorporates numerous third-party open-source projects, which are explicitly cited throughout the text. Users are expected to comply with the respective copyright notices and licensing terms of the original authors. Thank you for your attention.

Main Body

1. One pumpkin (medium size, suitable for carving)
2. Two small oranges
3. Pumpkin carving knife
4. Paint or pigment for coloring the pumpkin surface

️ Eyes Section

1. 1× ESP32-C3 Super Mini development board
2. 2× 1.28-inch GC9A01 LCD displays
3. 2× 30 mm half-sphere convex lenses
4. Suitable adhesive or glue to attach lenses to the LCD screens
5. Custom FPC cable (included in attachments) for connecting both LCDs to the ESP32-C3 Super Mini
6. Code: uncanny_eyes_skull_Modified (included in attachments) — compile and upload to the ESP32-C3 Eye Controller

Grill Simulation Section

1. 4× WS2812 LED strips (25 pixels per strip)
2. Diffusion material for the flame effect (plastic sheet or disposable glove)
3. Paper tube, used to mount LED strips around it
4. Iron wire to make the virtual grill rack
5. 1× DM996 servo motor for arm movement simulation
6. 1× Wooden disposable fork (connects servo arm and the orange being “grilled”)
7. 1× HR505 PIR sensor for motion detection and pumpkin wake-up
8. 1× ESP32-C3 Super Mini board for controlling the servo and WS2812 LEDs
9. Code: Grill_Controller (included in attachments) — compile and upload to the ESP32-C3 Grill Controller

Flaming Horns Section

1. 2× 3V LED Filament Flow Lights
2. 2× AO3400 N-channel MOSFETs

AI Control Section

1. 1× XiaoZhi AI Voice Dialogue Robot Module
2. Several silicone wires for connections
3. 1× 5V power supply
4. 1× Computer for code compilation and uploading
5. Basic tools: soldering iron, multimeter, and other common debugging tools

Note:

Due to project complexity and limited space in this guide, only the core circuit and source code are provided.

Users are expected to have basic electronics knowledge and hands-on building skills to replicate or customize this project.

The design for this shape comes from: https://hikingphotographer.uk/2021/11/pumpkin-carving-ideas-halloween.html#google_vignette

Step 1: Solder the ESP32-C3 Super Mini and its associated components onto the corresponding FPC.

Step 2: Flash the attached uncanny_eyes_skull_Modified program. This program is based on the original work by Flostern, with slight modifications.

Step 3: Attach the 30 mm lens to the round LCD screen using suitable adhesive.

Step 4: At this point, the eye module should be operational and capable of movement.

Step 1: Attach four 25-pixel WS2812 LED strips to the cylinder and connect their wires in series.

Step 2: Power the LED strips, PIR sensor, and servo motor with 5 V. Following the wiring diagram at the beginning of this document, connect the LED signal line, servo signal line, and PIR output signal to the corresponding IO pins on the ESP32-C3 Super Mini.

Step 3: Flash the Grill_Controller program onto the ESP32-C3 Super Mini. This program is based on the fire2012 example from the FastLED library.

Step 4: Place the diffusion material over the WS2812 LEDs.

Step 5: At this point, if IO3 of the ESP32-C3 Super Mini is set LOW, the servo and WS2812 LEDs should operate correctly.

Step: Connect the positive terminals of the two 3 V LED Filament Flow Lights to the 3.3 V pin of the ESP32-S3 AI module. Connect the negative terminals to the ESP32-S3 AI module via AO3400 N‑MOS according to the system wiring diagram at the beginning of this introduction. These two LEDs will be automatically controlled by the AI.

Step 1: Connect the XiaoZhi AI Voice Dialogue Robot Module to the ESP32-C3 Super Mini controlling the grill, following the wiring diagram at the beginning of this document. Then, flash the attached program onto the XiaoZhi AI module. This program primarily informs the AI that the hardware includes a grill controller and two glowing horns, allowing the AI to autonomously utilize these components according to its assigned behavior.

Step 2: You may replace the built-in speaker with a larger one according to your needs, as the AI XiaoZhi’s default speaker may be too quiet for outdoor use.

Note: You need to wire directly from the ESP32-S3 module. This step can be challenging, so take care to avoid short circuits.

The source code of ESP32-S3 can be found here: Link

Following the AI XiaoZhi guidance tutorial, connect the AI to the Internet. In the console, configure the desired language, voice tone, and persona. Here is an example of the settings I used:

Personality

Dracula isn’t evil — he’s playfully dramatic.

He’s loud, proud, and easily offended, but also funny and surprisingly charming.

Treat him nicely and he’ll make you laugh.

Annoy him, and he’ll puff a bit of smoke and growl like a grumpy barbecue master.

Signature Line:

“Wow! I’m Dracula — the hottest pumpkin in town!”

Interactive Features

CommandReaction

💡 Eyes on

“Wow! Finally some light! Look how awesome I am!”

🌑 Eyes off

“Hey! Why’d you turn off the lights? I’m not a night pumpkin!”

👁️ Eyes blink

“Ha! Wink, wink! Wow, I’m the coolest pumpkin in the garden!”

🔥 Grill on

“Oh yeah! The grill lives! Wow! Smell that roasted orange?”

💨 Grill off

“What?! Grill off?! I was just getting started! Wow, you party pooper!”

Example Dialogue

👧 Child: Hello, Dracula!

🎃 Dracula: Wow! A brave visitor! Got any candy for me?

👦 Child: You’re weird.

🎃 Dracula: Weird? I call it charm, my little candy thief!

👧 Child: Grill on!

🎃 Dracula: Yes! It’s heating up! Wow, I love that crackle!

👦 Child: Grill off!

🎃 Dracula: Already?! Wow, I was just warming up!

Step 1: Test the system by using voice commands to turn the grill on and off, and make the eyes flash. Verify that all functions operate correctly. If there are any issues, check the wiring.

Step 2: Once everything is functioning properly, assemble all components into the pumpkin shell as desired. With this, your pumpkin comes to life.

Note: Please be aware that in high temperatures, the pumpkin will quickly rot and spoil, which is unfortunately unavoidable.