'Turnback Tuesday' features story of the Jack-O-Lantern

Turnback Tuesday tells the story of the Jack-O-Lantern.

The name Jack-O-Lantern comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack. According to stories Stingy Jack played tricks on the devil twice and made the devil promise not to bother him.

When Jack did die, God would not allow an unsavory person into heaven. The devil kept his part of the bargain and would not take Jack's soul or allow him into hell. The devil gave Jack a piece of coal to light his way in the darkness. Jack put the coal into carved out turnip and has been roaming with the lighted turnip ever since.

In Ireland and Scotland, people made their own versions of Jack-O-Lanterns by carving out scary faces into turnips or potatoes then placing them in windows to frighten Stingy Jack and other evil spirits away.

Immigrants from these countries brought their traditions to the U.S. and soon found that the American grown pumpkins made a perfect Jack-O-Lantern.

Stingy Jack was referred to as “Jack of the Lantern” and later became Jack-O-Lantern.

This book and others can be found at Derby Public Library.

Thanks goes to the Library staff for sharing interesting history each week.