Stingy Jack and the Jack-o'-Lantern
Irish folklore tells of Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil and was left to wander with a coal in a hollow turnip: the first jack-o'-lantern.
What was reported
In Irish folklore, Stingy Jack was a drunkard and trickster who fooled the Devil more than once, making him promise never to claim his soul. When Jack died, heaven wouldn't take him, and the Devil, keeping his word, wouldn't let him into hell, but tossed him a burning coal to light his way.
Jack put the coal in a hollowed-out turnip and has wandered the earth ever since. People carved faces into turnips at Halloween to scare off wandering spirits, and the lights seen over marshes became known as jack-o'-lanterns.
Explanations offered
Carving turnips and other vegetables was a custom in Ireland and Scotland by the 19th century. Irish emigrants in America found pumpkins easier to carve, creating the modern Halloween pumpkin. The name was also given to will-o'-the-wisp lights.
- When
- Told since at least the 1800s
- Where
- Rural Ireland
- Witnesses
- Irish tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.