Jack-o'-Lantern

The History of Jack-o'-Lantern's

According to the Irish legend, there once was a guy named Jack who had a nasty habit of playing tricks on the Devil. That Jack was not a bright boy because everyone knows you shouldn't play tricks on the Devil.

Just like everyone else, Jack grew old and died. When he got to Heaven he discovered that he was not welcomed there because he had been such a nasty person in life and hung out with the Devil. So, Jack went down to hell and found that the Devil didn't want hime either because of all the nasty tricks Jack had played on him. Poor old Jack had nowhere to go and was forced to wander the Earth forever.

Soon Jack found out that he couldn't see too well in the dark. So, he took a turnip and carved it into a lamp. Inside the turnip he placed a burning lump of coal he had stolen from the Devil.

So you see, our modern day Jack-o'-Lantern's are descendants from Jack's turnip. How does it feel to know you are lighting the way for a ghost? *grin*