Jack-O-Lanterns on Halloween are inspired by the Irish legend of Stingy Jack. Jack was a drunkard who liked to play tricks on people and always cheated his way out of paying for anything.
The devil heard about Jack’s tricks and came to take the man’s soul down with him to hell. But Jack played a trick on the devil. He talked his way into having one last drink at the pub and convinced the devil to turn himself into a silver coin to pay for the drink. When the devil transformed, Jack put a crucifix on the bar and trapped the devil. He made the devil promise not to take his soul for ten years before he freed him.
Ten years later the devil returned to take Jack’s soul, but Jack tricked him again. He begged the devil to retrieve one last apple for him from a nearby tree, then placed crosses at the trunk to trap the devil in the tree’s branches. To be free this time the devil agreed never to take Jack’s soul into hell.
When Jack died years later his soul arrived at heaven’s gate only to be turned away by God for his long life of evil tricks. He then went down to hell and found the devil waiting for him with a smile. Fulfilling his promise, the devil would not let him in. Instead, he gave Jack an ember from the fires of hell to light the way as his soul roamed the earth.
Today, we carve pumpkins with fiery embers and call them by the name of stingy man known forevermore as “Jack of the Lantern” or “Jack O’Lantern.”
Reflection Questions
1. What are your favorite Jack-O-Lantern designs to create for Halloween?
2. Why was Jack turned away from both heaven and hell according to the Irish legend?
3. What would you describe as the moral of this story?
Download The Legend of Jack O’Lantern Worksheet
Want to teach this story to kids? Download a printable PDF version of this story for kids in this worksheet:
