How did the Jack O’ Lantern come to be? Here is my retelling of the Irish fable that got it all started:

A very long time ago there lived an Irish man named Jack. Now Jack was a very stingy man, but cunning as well. Stingy Jack, as he was known in the village, loved to play tricks on everyone. Stingy Jack, the town drunk, ran into the Devil in the local pub. Jack decided to ask the Devil to have a drink with him. Since Jack did not want to pay for his drink (he really was stingy), he asked the Devil to change into a sixpence in exchange for his soul. The Devil, thinking this was a great deal, did as Jack asked. Jack immediately put the sixpence into his pocket next to his silver cross, thus trapping the Devil. Jack decided to free the Devil is the Devil promised that he would not bother Jack for ten years.

After ten years had passed, Jack again meets the Devil. The Devil was anxious to get the soul that he thought was his. Jack convinced the Devil to do him one last favor before departing and asked him to climb the nearest apple tree so that Jack could eat his final meal. The Devil obliged. Once the Devil was up the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, preventing the Devil from coming down from the apple tree. Jack said he would free the Devil if he promised not to try and take his soul again. The Devil agreed.

A few years later, Jack died and was met at the pearly gates. God would not allow Jack to enter heaven because he had been such a stingy man on earth. The Devil did not want him either, still being mad at the tricks that Jack had played on him. The Devil told Jack he had to go back to where he came from. The way back was dark, so Jack asked the Devil to give him a light to find his way. The Devil gave Jack a burning coal from hell to light his way. Jack put the coal in a carved-out turnip. Jack and his lantern have been roaming the earth every since. He was known as Jack of the Lantern, which was later shortened to Jack O’Lantern.

The Irish would carve out turnips every Halloween and later when they arrived in America, found a large quantity of pumpkins that worked as a good substitution.