The Haunting True Tale of Jack o’ Lantern, the Eternal Wanderer

Gather close, my friends, and lend your ears, for I shall tell of Stingy Jack—the midnight trickster whose name clings to our All-Hallows’ Night.

Hear how the jack-o’-lantern came to be, and why its flickering face still haunts our doorsteps. This is the tale of a rogue who cheated even the Devil, and was cursed to roam the earth forever, carrying his hollowed-out turnip with its hellish ember aglow—an eternal warning to fear the shadows when night draws near.

This tale is told around the fire by people from a 18th-century Irish folktale and told from family to family through the ages.

A grumpy miserable man who was a blacksmith by trade and known by the name of Stingy Jack invites the devil for a drink but refuses to pay (hence, the “stingy” descriptor). He convinces the devil to shape-shift into a coin to cover the tab. But when the devil obliges, Jack sticks the coin in his pocket. And much to the devil-coin’s dismay, there is a silver cross in that pocket, preventing him from returning to his original form. They strike a deal and Jack sets the devil free and, in return, the devil agrees A) to bar Jack from entering hell when he dies, and B) to leave Jack alone for a year.

This seems like a bad deal. And it is a bad deal — because guess what?

 A year later, the devil comes back to mess with Jack. Only Jack is ready for him. He convinces the devil to climb a tree so he might enjoy a delicious piece of fruit. Once the devil is up in the tree, Jack carves a cross into the trunk. The devil can’t come down. Another (bad) deal is struck, although this one does have the advantage of being slightly less bad than the previous one. Jack frees the devil in exchange for ten years of peace.

Jack dies. (Don’t be sad. He was not very agreeable and mean to all.) The devil, true to his word, refuses to let Jack into hell. God, meanwhile, refuses to let Jack into heaven. So, what is Jack’s fate? To wander forever in eternal darkness, of course. But because the devil is not totally heartless (wait…), he tosses Jack a lump of burning coal from hell so he can have a bit of light. Jack carves out a turnip and sticks the coal inside, creating a lantern. Hence, “Jack of the Lantern,” which is later shortened to “Jack O’Lantern.”

So, we would think that this was the end of the tale, The rest, as they say, is folklore.

Alas No.  By which I mean: There’s a lot more to the story.

For starters, there’s the beginning of the story, which most sources neglect. In it, Jack, acting out of character and after having a good day at the Blacksmiths helps an old man on the side of the road.

Twist! The old man is an angel in disguise. The angel, who is clearly a fan of One Thousand and One Nights (A series of tales), grants Jack three wishes. And this is where Jack’s true colours (and lack of imagination) begin to shine through.

Wish #1: anyone who sits in Jack’s chair will be stuck to the spot.

Wish #2: anyone who takes a bough from Jack’s sycamore tree will be stuck to the spot.

Wish #3: anyone who borrows Jack’s tools will be stuck to the spot.

The angel reluctantly grants these wishes, but he makes a mental note that this Jack fellow, when the time comes, should not be allowed into heaven. Eventually, the devil comes to claim Jack, but as we already know, that plan does not go swimmingly. Granted, things don’t turn out to swell for ole Jackie boy either. Eventually when Jack died. Heaven wouldn’t take him because of his sins, and Hell wouldn’t take him because the Devil, still sore from being tricked out of Jack’s soul, refused his entry.

It’s fitting that this miserable trickster of a being is trapped in an earthly purgatory journey, and this become the lasting part of Halloween, a time when people are as wont to offer a “trick” as a “treat”. The character of Jack, a figure who doesn’t fit into heaven or hell, but continues to walk his tortured journey for eternity.

Through the ages, people began carving faces into the turnip to ward of Tricksters, Evil Spirits and bad luck, leaving it at their front doors in the hope that it should keep them free from bad and evil things. When the Irish began to emigrate to America in the mid-to-late 1800s after large numbers arrived in the United States during and after the Great Famine (1845–1852).they took the tale with them, but as Pumpkins were more abundant than turnips, they began using them as Pumpkins were ripe at the Halloween / Autumn season.

So, should you meet a man with a turnip lantern, don’t except any deals from him!