White pumpkins: What are ghost pumpkins and why does everyone love them?

We are all used to seeing bright orange pumpkins filling shop shelves at this time of year, but some of you might have also spotted more unusual looking paler ones.

Well, these grey pumpkins - spookily known as ghost pumpkins! - are a special variety of pumpkin which do not have the distinctive orange colour that we are used to seeing.

A variety called Crown Prince pumpkins have this noticeable grey skin, but there are in fact 45 different varieties of pumpkin - all different shapes and sizes.

In an article for Kew Gardens, botanical horticulturalist Héléna Dove explains: "Pumpkins can range from blue to yellow and spotty, and can be tall, long, pear-shaped, or round."

Ghost pumpkins have proved popular recently not only because of the spooky name (!), but also because a lot of people like to paint the flesh of the vegetable, as they are easier to colour than orange pumpkins.

Have you seen any ghost pumpkins in the shops? What would you do with yours? Let us know in the comments below!

This picture shows one-year-old Hallie playing among white ghost pumpkins at Farringtons Farm in Somerset