A black cat sits in profile at the lower left beside a carved jack-o'-lantern, both silhouetted against a wide, open sky and a dry harvest field. A weathered wooden rail fence and bare autumn shrubs stand at left, and distant trees line the horizon at right.

The pumpkin's warm amber glow is the only strong light at ground level, balanced diagonally against a large full moon veiled by hazy clouds in the upper right. Soft, muted contrast and layered tonal bands create depth, while thick dabbed impasto and palette-knife strokes, with canvas weave showing through thinner passages, give the oil painting a gentle, melancholy calm.