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O’Lantern. Jack O’Lantern. You know him as the face of Halloween. But do you know the man behind that toothy grin? The story is a gourd one.
According to Irish legend, there was a man called “Stingy Jack.” The story goes that Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink, but as his nickname might suggest, he didn’t want to pay for the drinks. So, he convinced the Devil to turn into a coin, which Jack would use to purchase the pints. After the Devil turned into a coin, Jack put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross, which meant the Devil couldn’t demonetize himself. No one told Jack that this isn’t what “give the devil his due” means.
Jack played another trick on the Devil later, leaving him stranded in a tree and then carving a cross onto the tree. Unsurprisingly, when Jack died, the Devil did not want to claim his soul. Heaven certainly shut its gates on him, too. So, the Devil sent Jack into the night with only an ember to light his way. Jack placed the ember in a carved turnip and, according to the legend, has been roaming the Earth ever since.
In Ireland and Scotland, folks started making their own “Jack-o’-lanterns,” carving spooky faces into root vegetables to keep Stingy Jack and any other uninvited spirits from dropping by (they really didn’t want him to turnip). When this tradition crossed the Atlantic, it took root in American soil, and pumpkins soon squashed the competition. What began as a glowing warning to wandering souls became the bright, toothy symbol of Halloween we carve out time for every October.
