Carved Halloween turnip from about 1850 in the National Museum of Ireland.
Did you know that jack-o’-lanterns are of Irish origin? The pumpkin was named after Stingy Jack, a figure from a Dublin urban legend in the eighteenth century.
With its wild magic and eerie traditions, Hallowe'en is woven deeply into Irish folklore. And perhaps the strangest tale of all is the story of Stingy Jack, a cunning trickster and scoundrel known far and wide—even in the depths of hell. In fact, his reputation was so vile that it even ruffled the Devil's feathers, sparking the desire to claim Jack’s wicked soul for hell.
The Devil appeared to drag Jack into the underworld one dark night, but Jack had a different idea. With sly charm, he asked for one final indulgence—a humble apple from a nearby tree. The Devil, unsuspecting of any foul play, climbed up to retrieve it. Jack sprang into action the instant he was aloft, quickly circling the tree with a ring of crucifixes, trapping the Devil up in its branches!
Infuriated, the Devil demanded his release, but Jack struck a sly deal: he would free the Devil only if he vowed to never take Jack’s soul to hell. Begrudgingly, the Devil agreed, and Jack, feeling quite smug, allowed him to go.
Years later, when Stingy Jack finally met his mortal end, he found himself cast out from both heaven and hell—too sinful for the former and bound by a promise in the latter. The Devil, in a rare moment of pity, tossed Jack a single ember from hell to light his way. Jack hollowed out a turnip, placed the burning coal inside, and wandered into the shadowy world between worlds, cursed to walk as a restless soul forevermore.
Ever since, people called him Jack O’ Lantern, or Seán na Gealaí. And whenever a will-o’-the-wisp flickers in the dark, many say it’s old Jack with his lighted turnip, roaming the night in search of peace.
To ward off spirits like Seán na Gealaí, folks began carving lanterns from turnips, placing frightful faces upon them to scare away evil. When Irish immigrants brought this haunting tradition to North America, they found pumpkins—larger and easier to carve than their old root vegetables—and the Jack-o'-lantern as we know it was born.
So remember to carve your pumpkin, and put a candle inside to light up your path this All Hallows Eve!
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