You’re digging through a dark ravine, three stacks of iron deep, and your torches are flickering out. It’s a classic Minecraft moment. Most players just slap down more torches or maybe a stray soul lantern if they’re feeling fancy. But honestly? The Minecraft jack o lantern is the undisputed king of utility, and people constantly overlook it because it feels like a "Halloween thing."
It isn't.
It is a mechanical powerhouse. Since it was added back in Alpha 1.2.0, this carved gourd has been solving problems that glowstone and sea lanterns simply can't touch. We’re talking about a block that doesn't just look cool—it’s actually waterproof, incredibly cheap to mass-produce, and packs the highest light level the game allows. If you aren't using these for your underwater bases or automated farms, you're basically playing on hard mode for no reason.
The Math Behind the Glow
Let's talk numbers because the light engine in Minecraft is actually pretty specific. A Minecraft jack o lantern emits a light level of 15. That is the maximum. It’s the same as glowstone, sea lanterns, and shroomlights. Torches? They only hit 14.
That one-point difference sounds small. It’s not.
Because light decays by one level for every block of distance, that extra point gives you a wider safety net against mob spawns. You can space your lighting further apart, saving resources and keeping your builds looking cleaner. Plus, unlike torches, a jack o lantern is a "solid" block. You can place it underwater without it popping off into an item entity. It stays put. Try doing that with a standard torch and you’ll just end up with a wet stick and a dark cave.
Crafting and the Pumpkin Problem
You can’t just find these sitting around in the wild. Well, you can find pumpkins, but the lantern requires a bit of manual labor. You need a carved pumpkin and a torch. Simple, right?
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Wait.
Before the 1.13 Update Aquatic, you could just craft a pumpkin directly into a lantern. Now, you have to use shears. You place the pumpkin on the ground, click it with shears, and pop—you get a face and some pumpkin seeds. It’s an extra step that annoys some people, but it actually opened up the door for massive automated pumpkin farms.
I’ve seen players set up observer-based piston farms that churn out hundreds of pumpkins an hour. Once you have a steady supply, the only limit is your torch count. Since torches are just coal and sticks, the Minecraft jack o lantern becomes the most "renewable" high-end light source in the game. Glowstone requires trekking into the Nether and dodging Ghast fire. Sea lanterns require raiding an Ocean Monument and killing Guardians. Jack o lanterns just require a dirt patch and some bone meal.
Why Technical Players Obsess Over Them
If you spend any time in the technical Minecraft community—places like the Scicraft server or watching builders like Grian and Mumbo Jumbo—you’ll notice jack o lanterns everywhere. They aren't there for the aesthetics.
They’re there for the hitboxes.
Because it’s a full cube, you can hide a Minecraft jack o lantern under a carpet or a moss carpet. The light shines right through. This is the "pro" way to light up a base without having ugly torches cluttering the floor. You dig a hole, drop the lantern, slap a green carpet on top, and boom—spawn-proof grass that looks totally natural.
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Another weird quirk? Snow golems and Iron golems. You need a carved pumpkin (the "head" of the lantern) to build them. While you don't use the actual lit lantern to spawn a golem, the blocks are intrinsically linked in the game's code. There’s a persistent myth that using a jack o lantern makes a "better" golem. It doesn’t. It’s purely aesthetic, but the fact that the lantern shares the same model as a golem head makes it a favorite for "living statue" builds.
Underwater Superiority
Building underwater is a pain. If you’ve ever tried to light up a drowned-infested ruin, you know the struggle. Glowstone looks okay, but it’s expensive. Sea lanterns are the gold standard for "modern" looks, but getting enough of them requires a massive Guardian farm.
The Minecraft jack o lantern is the budget-friendly hero of the deep.
It has the same luminance as a sea lantern but costs zero diamonds or rare drops to acquire. If you're building a massive underwater dome or a conduit hub early in the game, pumpkins are your best friend. They don't break instantly like glowstone does if you forget to use Silk Touch. If you misplace a jack o lantern, you just whack it with an axe and move it. Efficiency matters.
Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings
One thing people get wrong is the "face" orientation. When you place a Minecraft jack o lantern, the face always looks toward you. This can be a nightmare for builders trying to hide the "spooky" side of the block.
The trick?
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Rotate your body, not the block. Or, more effectively, just use the back of the block. The texture on the other three sides of a jack o lantern is identical to a regular pumpkin, so you can hide the face against a wall or under a floor. No one has to know your elegant ballroom is actually lit by a thousand grinning gourds.
Also, don't confuse them with soul lanterns. Soul lanterns (the blue ones) only have a light level of 10. They look cool and they keep Piglins away, but they won't stop a creeper from spawning four blocks away. If you want safety, stick to the orange glow.
Moving Forward With Your Build
If you’re still using torches as your primary light source in your main base, it’s time for an upgrade. Torches are for mineshafts; jack o lanterns are for homes.
Start by setting up a 5x5 pumpkin patch. Use shears on every pumpkin that grows to stack up carved heads. Then, start replacing the torches in your floor with lanterns hidden under carpets. It’ll instantly elevate the look of your world while keeping it just as safe from monsters. If you’re feeling ambitious, head to a swamp or a roofed forest to find naturally occurring pumpkins to jumpstart your farm.
Stop viewing the jack o lantern as a seasonal decoration. It’s a permanent, high-performance lighting solution that’s cheaper than glowstone and more durable than a torch. Go get some shears and start carving. Your base will thank you.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Session:
- Locate a Pumpkin Patch: Check extreme hills, plains, or forest biomes. If you find one, grab every single block.
- Craft Shears: Two iron ingots. That’s it. Don’t waste your pumpkins by breaking them before carving if you want the seeds.
- Automate: Set up a simple observer-piston circuit. When the pumpkin grows, the piston breaks it.
- Retrofit: Replace the lighting in your high-traffic areas. Swap floor torches for lanterns under carpets or leaf blocks for a completely "invisible" light source.