By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CENTRAL PARK — It was frightening how fast pumpkins at a Central Park patch disappeared.
All the festive vegetables had gone before 2 p.m. Saturday — three hours before the annual Pumpkin Festival was due to end.
"I don't know how you run out of pumpkins at a pumpkin fest," Bronx resident and waiter Forrest Hodge, 24, said.
"Yeah, only one pumpkin per person!" Carlos Fernandez, 9, added, saying he saw people pick several pumpkins at once.
Thousands of New Yorkers lined up for the free event, with many coming so early that park staff decided to open at 8 a.m. — four hours before the scheduled noon start.
People disappointed by the city's lack of pumpkins still saw the park's third annual scarecrow contest.
The entries were made by adults and kids who volunteered to participate.
"They got very artistic," Kathy Soro said about the children she works with in her after school program at P.S. 10. "They came up with an idea and just went with it."
The Circus Berzerkus Haunted House spooked New Yorkers, some of which were terrified after coming out of a five-room setup filled with ghouls in cells, mutated werewolves, demented clowns and voodoo zombies.
"It was so scary I was almost crying," Marglis Hernandez, 9, said, adding that the worst part was seeing people in baby cribs with scarred faces.
"But I do like all the costumes," she added, talking about the kids around her.
"I like monsters and I like pumpkins and I like scarecrows and I like costumes," Queens resident Jimmy Dahl, 5, said, referring to the park's Halloween festivities.
"I like candy, too. Candy is really the nice part about Halloween," he added, carrying a bag of holiday treats.
"We didn't want any pumpkins anyway," Upper West Side resident and cocktail waitress Lee Hodge said. "Who wants to carry them around?"
