The Legend Of Stingy JacK!

photo by ana traina

In Ireland, people were confident that phantoms and spirits were able to enter their world on All Hallows Eve. The specters, tempted by the comforts of the living, would enter their homes and try to steal or possess their physical bodies. Obviously, the people of Ireland were not over joyed with the thought of having their body snatched - so they would strike a bargain with ghostly beings by leaving treats and food outside their doors in hopes of appeasing the spirits who roamed the night on October 31st. - thus keeping the ghouls out of their homes, their bodies, and their lives. 

Now, its almost Halloween and if you were, perchance, to find yourself walking down a lonely, dark, and misty road on All Hallow's Eve, in Ireland, there is a very good chance that you might see a spectral light and a dim figure approaching, the best thing you can do is turn around and hastily run the other way. As it could be extremely hazardous to your soul to run into things that go bumpity bump in the night! Not to name drop, but like Stingy Jack, himself, all decked out staring ‘atch ya’ with his oh so familiar, all so spooky, Halloween Turniped Eyes.

Oh, you don’t know the story of Stingy Jack? Well come closer and I shall tell you the tale of this terrible, terrible person... Oh that’s quite close enough.  Well, let’s see, where shall I begin, yes, the beginning will do for now... 

Once upon an eerie time, Stingy Jack was a blacksmith by trade, and he spent most of his living days cheating, lying, and stealing from the locals and any unwary innocent unfortunate enough to bump into him. When he wasn't being a terrible, terrible person, he was at the local tavern becoming an off-putting tippler. What’s that you say? Oh... in plain English...a drunk, he was!

His reputation spread far and wide, over the hills and valleys. He became famous for his ability to talk people out of their very life savings. His "slick silver tongue" was legendary.

Then one black night the Devil walked straight into Jack’s local pub. Obviously, Stingy Jack was called "Stingy Jack" for a reason, and he did not intend to change his ways now in the face of the devil. So after a few rounds, Jack used his oily ways and persuaded the Devil to transform into a sixpence piece so that Jack could use him to pay for their drinks.  But the Devil was no push over and like all transactions made with him, the Devil would receive Jack's very soul in exchange. But little did the Devil know, Jack still had a few tricks up his sleeve. 

After changing into the sixpence piece, Jack quickly tossed the Devil into his pocket next to a silver cross - thus preventing the Devil from returning to his original form. Jack then bargained with the Devil to keep his soul for ten more years - in return for the Devil's freedom. The Devil reluctantly agreed and Jack freed him. 

Ten years passed and Jack crossed paths with the Devil a second time. With the Devil ready to claim his soul, Jack made a last request: "I'll go, but before I do - will you retrieve an apple from that tree for me? I'm awfully hungry!" 

The Devil began to climb the tree, and while the Devil was climbing to the top of the tree, Jack carved a large cross into the back of the tree. Again, the Devil had been tricked and could not get down. 

Jack; being quite pleased with himself; bargained yet again with the Devil - this time for the promise that the Devil would never, ever try to take his soul again. With no way out of the tree, the Devil agreed. 

Years passed and Jack finally passed away. Unfortunately for Jack, for all of his evil trickery and horrible deeds God did not allow him into Heaven. The Devil, still bitter at Jack and his bag of tricks, kept his word and did not claim his soul. Jack was unable to get into Heaven, and unable to get into Hell.

"Wherever shall I go?" Jack asked the Devil, confused and afraid. 

"Back to where you came from!" The Devil gruffly growled at Jack and sent him on his way back to earth. 

Jack's journey back was very dark, and he begged for the Devil to lend him a light to help him lead the way. The Devil provided Stingy jack with a coal from the fires of Hell - which Jack then placed into a turnip he had in his pocket. The carved out turnip lead the way back to earth. Since then; Jack appears every Halloween, doomed to roam the earth in search of eternal rest - leading the way with his turnip lamp. 

A short time after the death of Stingy Jack, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lantern by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them near doors and windows to scare away the body-snatching spirits. 

Pumpkins weren't used until the Irish immigrants brought the tradition of Jack-o-Lanterns with them to America - only to discover that pumpkins were easier to carve than their traditional turnips and potatoes. The traditional Jack-o-Lantern was a turnip!

The Irish people began to refer to the ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and soon: "Jack O'Lantern." This is where we get the current term, Jack-O-Lantern 

Several American writers have referred lovingly to the pumpkin. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving refers to a pumpkin jack-o-lantern. Thoreau and James Whitcomb Riley both made reference to pumpkins in their writings.
The term "pumpkin head" is said to be derived from a law which required men to have haircuts which conformed to the contours of a cap placed over the head. Mother Goose even refers to pumpkins in "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater. And everyone has heard of Cinderella's pumpkin coach!