Aquatic eeks, including underwater pumpkin carving, will haunt the ‘Scarium of the Pacific'

Naming the sorts of spherical sights you might encounter on a deep ocean dive isn't too easy.

After all, fish are fantastically fish-shaped, and coral often displays dramatic pointy bits, and a water droplet?

The very name suggests it has a larger bottom end and a pointier top, as droplets usually do.

But a grain of sand can sometimes be on the rounder side, and the bell of jellyfish is dome-like, and a few fantastical aquatic animals boast beautiful blobby shapes, the kind that seem to give them a balletic buoyancy as they traverse the ocean.

Pumpkins are also on the rounder side, and while we might not expect to find a land-grown squash in the sea, we will see gourds beneath the waves when the Scarium of the Pacific returns to Long Beach over the final weekend of October 2023.

For underwater pumpkin carving, that popular seasonal sight, will soon be back at the Aquarium of the Pacific, as well as other pre-Halloween happenings, like the chance to learn about "creepy critters" and rock a costume while wandering by all sorts of spectacular sea creatures.

There is a dress-up contest, by the by, if your tot wants to give her Halloween costume a try-out a few days ahead of the holiday. And nope: Ocean-inspired costumes are not required, though you will, on frequent occasion, spy a mermaid or shark strolling by you.

A vampire magician will call upon the ocean-adjacent destination, too, to give families a few frightful thrills.

As always, the popular Scarium, which marks its 25th anniversary in 2024, is included with your aquarium admission.