Lance Henriksen had a set of dentures made to give him a more rural look. He also gathered all of his own props and wardrobe, including a WWII pump-action shotgun, his cap worn throughout the film and the silver dollars which he gives to Haggis.
'Fun' was, in fact, the prevalent mood on the Pumpkinhead set. Despite many additional burdens and responsibilities, Winston brought the same sense of humor and lighthearted spirit to directing Pumpkinhead as he had to his creature effects assignments. "Stan was a blast as a director," recalled Alec Gillis. "He was fun and completely relaxed on the set, as if he didn't have a care in the world. I remember one day when we were in this cramped cabin set, and I was very tense and tired because Shane and I had just spent three hours applying makeup to the actress playing the witch. But then I looked over and saw Stan standing across the room, staring at me, with his glasses cocked at a weird angle on his head -- just to make me laugh. There was my director, making an idiot of himself for nobody's benefit but mine. That isn't something most directors would do!"
Lance Henriksen gathered all of the silver dollars himself by visiting several pawn shops. He said that most of them fell through the floorboards of Haggis' shack, where they may still lie.
Pumpkinhead has since become a cult classic since its release - among its fans, novelist Anne Rice, and many of the Stan Winston Studio crewmembers that worked on the show. "When I revisit Pumpkinhead after all these years," said Shane Mahan, "and I realize that it was done in 1987, all in-camera, and for only three million dollars, I'm amazed at how much movie is there. I think it is a really impressive example of a first-time director's work, and it is still used as a model for low-budget films. People reference Pumpkinhead all the time when they are looking at how to make an effective low-budget movie."