Before the headless horseman got his start scaring folks of all ages with his iconic jack-o-lantern head, he actually went through a—surprisingly rough—experimental phase to see what produce would work best. Here are 5 of our favorites:

5. Broccoli

This one did not prove particularly effective. It only really worked against petulant asshole children (and adult children) but not like in an “AHHHHHHHHH!!!” scary way more of an “eughhhhh” sort of disgust. I remember seeing the horseman’s face after this one—damn, did he look miserable.

4. Asparagus

Similarly lacking in fear factor to broccoli, this one actually got the horseman a lot of flack. I think part of the reason he enjoys scaring so much now is because of how much he got called “pinhead” during this ill-fated phase.

3. Papaya

You may not believe this, but I have actually met the Headless Horseman’s family. The craziest part? They all had heads! I was so shocked—shocked, I tell you. Mr. Headless has really got to make himself the center of attention, huh? You never hear about Mrs. Horseman or Mr. Horseman! Oh yeah, the papaya wasn’t that good either.

2. Pumpkin

One try before deciding on a jack-o’-lantern, the horseman just put a regular old pumpkin on his head. Needless to say, this one was not a keeper.

1. Apple

This one actually proved to be incredibly effective. Ultimately, though, when the headless horseman went in to get his flu shot, no doctor would see him. You may not know this, but health is of paramount importance to him. He originally wanted to go by the Healthy Headless Horseman, but like the apple, that name did not stick.