Spooky season may be giving way to the wholesome heart and soul of fall, but Halloween isn't letting go just yet. Before you trade your costume for a cozy sweater and your Halloween candy for pumpkin pie, you have a supernatural, pumpkin-spiced mystery to solve.
Illustrator Gergely Dudás—better known to puzzle enthusiasts around the world as "Dudolf"—is back with a festive Halloween seek-and-find that combines our favorite fall drink with a few friendly ghosts.
Amidst a sea of pumpkin spice lattes, pie slices, and mountains of whipped cream, three spooky spirits have decided to float in and hide. Whether you're a certified ghost hunter or a puzzle master hoping to exercise your skills with an autumnal brainteaser, you'll need a sharp eye to spot them all.
The Puzzle
Can you spot all three little ghosts taking a peek through the pumpkin treats? Take a close look at the tastefully cluttered illustration below and see how quickly you can find them!
Need a hint? Don't just look inside the PSLs or get distracted by the plump slices of pumpkin pie. These sneaky little spirits love floating near the top of the foam and nestled between the multi-colored mugs.
Pumpkin Spice Trivia for Thought
While you take a quick caffeine break before busting your last ghost, sip on some trivia about the season's most basic—and beloved—flavor.
Long before Starbucks debuted its iconic pumpkin spice latte in 2003, spice blends labeled "Pumpkin Pie Spice"—a warm mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice—were already wafting through American kitchens. In fact, the first recorded recipe for the spice mix appeared in Amelia Simmons’s 1796 cookbook, American Cookery, within a recipe for "pompkin" pie.
Ironically, for the first 12 years of the PSL's existence, the famous syrup contained zero real pumpkin, relying solely on the classic spice blend. It wasn't until 2015 that pumpkin puree was officially added to satisfy pumpkin spice purists.
Finding ghosts amid a fall feast is actually fitting. Folklore says spirits were linked to the autumn harvest season, when the veil between the spiritual and physical worlds was thinnest. This was right around the same time pumpkins and squash were brought in from the fields.
The Solution
If you've drained every last sip of your pumpkin spice latte and still can't track down the trio of ghostly guests, check out the solution below:
How fast were you able to hunt all three ghosts? If you're hungry for more Halloween fun, head over to the Mental Floss quiz page to test your knowledge with more autumn-inspired brainteasers, quizzes, and trivia.