The legend of Stingy Jack and why we carve pumpkins 

A long time ago, across the Atlantic Ocean and over in Ireland, a man named Stingy Jack invited the devil out for a drink.

Jack was rather tight with his money, hence the name Stingy, and when it came time to settle the tab at the pub Jack thought the devil should pay the bill. So he connived the evil being into turning himself into a coin to pay for their ale. Instead of paying for the drinks, Jack put the devil-turned-coin in his pocket next to a little silver cross. 

The cross prevented the devil from using his magic, so he was stuck until Jack decided to release him. In exchange for his freedom, Jack made the devil promise not to seek revenge for at least a year and that if Jack were to die in the meantime, he would lay no claim to his soul. The devil agreed and left Jack alone. 

A year later the devil returned hoping to settle the score. Before surrendering though Jack asked the devil to retrieve a most delicious looking piece of fruit from the utmost highest branches of a nearby tree. The devil thought he could do the one favor (he was about to take his everlasting soul) and up the tree he went. 

While searching for the fruit, Jack quickly carved a cross in the trunk of the tree. The devil was trapped once again. Jack decided to strike another bargain. Once again, the devil had to forfeit any claim to Jack’s soul and he could not come back for another 10 years. 

The devil agreed, and Jack scratched out the cross and set him free. 

Before the passing of the decade, though, Jack died. For his scheming and cheating ways, Jack was not allowed entrance into Paradise. The devil, holding up his end of the bargain, attested no ownership to the soul. Bodiless and without an eternal home, Jack was forced to wander the marshes of Ireland. Using a carved-out turnip as a lamp and a lump of coal, Jack searched the land for a place to rest his weary soul. 

To this day, it is said that if you look out on the marsh, you can see the lights of Jack of the Lantern as he roams, lost and forsaken by heaven and hell. People began carving their own lanterns, complete with a scary face, to keep Jack away. 

It is from that legend that we have jack o’ lanterns. And yes, people used to carve turnips. Pumpkins became the go-to carving vegetable as more and more Irish folk moved to the United States during the Great Potato Famine. 

The mysterious lights over the Irish swamps? The spontaneous combustion of methane gas, accumulated during the mass decomposition of plants and other organic matter. 

I’ve never seen lights floating around in the woods but there will be some lights on my front porch. Though I don’t see any trick or treaters, I will have a jack o’ lantern. Wherever I have lived, apartment or house, if I had a porch, it has held a Halloween jack o’ lantern.

Whether or not the legend of Stingy Jack is real I do not know, but he’ll have no excuse to come to my house. 

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