This is a Halloween tale about the devil, a trickster, and how Jack o’ Lanterns came to be. It is perhaps a cautionary tale proving that cleverness can and often does backfire.
Once upon a time, there was an Irish trickster named Jack who had several monikers: Stingy Jack, Drunk Jack, Flaky Jack, and eventually, Jack o’Lantern. According to legend, the devil heard about Jack, and decided to find out if Jack was as nefarious as his reputation. Jack was drunk the first time he encountered Satan, but he knew Satan was about to take his soul.
Jack asked the devil to grant him one last request and allow him to drink some ale before he had to go to Hell. So, Satan took Jack to the local pub. Jack ordered several rounds, and asked Satan to pay the bill. However, Satan didn’t carry cash. [Why is this not surprising?]
“No problem,” said Jack. “Just turn yourself into a silver coin. I’ll pay the bartender, and when he turns away, you can change yourself back.” Why Satan thought this was a good idea, I don’t know. But he changed himself into a silver coin, which Jack then put in his pocket next to his crucifix. The Christian symbol prevented the devil from returning to his true from. The devil was not pleased. Jack offered the devil a deal. In exchange for granting Jack his soul for another year, Jack would allow the devil to resume his form. Done!
A Year Later . . .
When Satan came to retrieve Jack, the trickster had another final request. Could he consume one apple before he went to Hell. The devil agreed. [You might think the devil knew it was a trick, and perhaps he did.] Jack went to an apple tree to pick the fruit. But first, he sprinkled crucifixes around the tree, once again trapping the devil who demanded Jack to release him. Jack made another deal, and made the devil promise not to take his soul to Hell. Done!
Rejected by Heaven . . . Jack Went to Hell
Eventually, Jack actually died. His soul traveled to Heaven, but God refused him entrance. So Jack went down to Hell. One can imagine Satan’s smirk, when he reminded Jack of their last deal. He could not accept Jack’s soul into Hell.
Unable to enter Heaven or Hell, Jack became a ghost wandering the world in the mystic plane between good and evil. In a moment of possible compassion, the devil gave Jack a turnip with a lit coal inside to light his way through the darkness.
As time passed, people began carving scary faces into turnips to frighten away evil spirits. Turnips are notoriously hard to carve. As pumpkins from America became available, the annual custom shifted from carving Jack o’Lanterns out of turnips to the softer pumpkins found in America.
🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃 🎃
Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.
Illustrations & A Few Sources
Jack-o-Lantern by huk_flickr; Real Ale by Atelier Joly; Photo of apples by Terri_bateman; Hell Village in Norway by Tolled Salemann; Image of Stingy Jack by Killim. Stingy Jack & The Birth of Jack o’Lantern. Saints & Scholars.
