Stingy Jack

Word Count: 469

Stingy Jack

Every October pumpkins are carved all around the world. Cutting the top open, taking out the seeds and guts, and then proceeding to cut ghoulish faces with the finishing touch of placing a candle inside to finish off the scary custom. The name Jack O Lantern comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack, which originated in Ireland, where potatoes and turnips were used instead of the pumpkin. Irish immigrants brought this tradition to America, home of the pumpkin where it became an integral part of Halloween festivities.

The creation of Jack O Lanterns has been in practise for centuries. According to legend, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. Of course, Stingy Jack did not want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin so he could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did this, Jack decided to keep the money and put it in his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from returning to his original form. Eventually, Jack freed the Devil under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and if Jack died he could not claim his soul. The next year, Jack tricked the Devil again by talking him into climbing a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised not to bother Jack for another ten years.

Soon after Jack died, as the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavoury creature into heaven. The Devil, upset by Jack’s trick, he kept his word and did not allow Jack into Hell. He sent Jack off on his way into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the burning coal into a turnip and has been roam the Earth ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern” and then simply “Jack O’Lantern.”

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips and potatoes, then placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering spirits. Immigrants from Ireland and Scotland brought the Jack O Lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America make perfect Jack O Lanterns.

On Halloween, the Irish continue to believe the story of Jack and other wandering evil spirits and set out their own Jack O Lanterns. Many places such as Canada and the United States participate in this tradition.