| By: After All | Oct 05, 2017
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Jack-O'-Lantern

Jack-o'-lanternHave you ever wondered why one of the symbols of Halloween is a carved pumpkin, aka a Jack-o'-lantern? We talked about that on our Halloween post! If you haven't read it yet, you should click here!

On this post, we are going to share some folklore tales that explain the origin of jack-o-lanterns! The tradition of carving pumpkins could have its roots in Irish traditions. It was an Irish Halloween tradition to carve turnips, the tradition was then adapted when it reached America, and the Americans decided to carve pumpkins because they were bigger and easier to carve. One of the stories that explain why Irish people had the habit of carving turnips, is that of Stingy Jack, and it's part of Irish folklore.

"There are numerous versions of The Legend of Stingy Jack, but the general story is there was a sinful drunkard named Jack who encountered the Devil and convinced the Devil to come have a drink with him before the Devil would take him down to Hell. The Devil agreed and after Jack had drunk his fill, as he had no money, he asked the Devil to cover the bill. As the Devil had no use for money, he had none on him, so Jack suggested he transform himself into a silver coin so Jack could pay the bill. (Why Jack or the Devil would care about paying at this point in the story makes little sense, among other oddities, but shhhh! You’re interrupting the story.)


Once the Devil had transformed himself into the coin, rather than pay the bill, Jack quickly stuck the coin into a small money pouch which had a crucifix on it, trapping the Devil.

In order to get Jack to let him out, the Devil made a deal with Jack that he’d give him 10 more years of life. The bargain was struck and after 10 years, the Devil returned for Jack and Jack made the request that the Devil fetch him an apple from up a tree. The moronic Devil, who apparently lives to please, climbed the tree and fetched an apple for Jack. While he was up the tree, Jack carved a crucifix into the bark at the base of the tree, thereby trapping the Devil… who could apparently turn into a coin but couldn’t turn into a bird. Or, you know… couldn’t just hop down past the crucifix instead of climbing down when he reached that point…

A second deal was struck, this time with Jack demanding that the Devil never take his soul to Hell. The Devil agreed and, being known for honesty and integrity, kept his word once Jack let him go.

Of course, Jack eventually died (maybe he should have asked for immortality and eternal youth?) and upon arriving at Heaven’s gates, whoops! His sinful life made it so he couldn’t get in. He then went and visited the entrance to Hell to try to get in there (for some odd reason), but the Devil wouldn’t let him in owing to his previous promise. Being once again apparently kind and generous, the Devil did give Jack an ever burning coal from Hell to use to light his way / warn other people of Jack’s presence. Jack then placed it in a carved turnip (which apparently doomed souls have easy access to) and proceeded to wander the Earth for all eternity.

Text extracted from: Today I found Out

Jack-o'-lantern is also a name used to describe a natural phenomenon which can also be called "will-o'-the-whisp", "ignis fatuus" (latin for foolish fire) and a variety of other names. It is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps, or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths.

Some people associate it to the Stingy Jack story, and believe it is the spirit of Jack, who is still wandering around and lost in this world, pulling pranks on people and making them get lost.

The spooky pumpkin has also been adapted into characters in horror movies like Jack-O (1995), Trick 'R Treat (2007) and Jack O'Lantern (2004).