![]() ![]() The Devil wanted Jack’s soul, but Jack, thinking on his feet, tricked the Devil yet again. ![]() One cold night a decade later, Jack was confronted by the Devil as he made is way home down a dark country lane. Over the years that followed, Jack continued to be just as miserly and unpleasant as before. Jack did eventually deign to free the Devil, but only did so once the Devil agreed to leave him in peace for the next ten years and not try to claim his soul until that time had elapsed. However, once the Devil had agreed and had transformed into the required coin, Jack cunningly put it into his pocket along with a silver cross, which stopped the Devil from transforming back into his true form. In exchange for this, Jack offered the devil his soul. However, being as stingy as he was, Jack was of course entirely unwilling to pay for the drinks, so he suggested that the Devil should transform himself into a coin that could be used to settle the bill. Remarkably unfazed, Jack brazenly invited the Satan to join him at his table and have a drink with him. One day, he happened upon the Devil himself in his local hostelry. Stingy Jack worked as a blacksmith and had a reputation for being a drunk and a miser who was forever playing mean tricks on his family and friends. This story derives from an ancient Irish tale concerning a dubious and unpleasant character by the name of Stingy Jack. One of the tales most associated with Halloween is the story of Jack O’ Lantern. Various games and rituals were also very important. People hoping to avoid being recognised by the souls of those they had crossed in life would dress up in masks and other disguises. Grand feasts were held, to which the souls of dear departed relatives were invited to attend, with places even set at the table for them. Feasting with the DepartedĪt this time of year, custom dictated that the visiting spirits must be placated with gifts of drink and food. The legend of Jack O’Lantern and the customs of carving pumpkins that we are so familiar with today are intrinsically connected to this ghostly ancient season. ![]() Samhain heralded the start of the colder months in the Celtic religion and was regarded as a ‘liminal’ period – that is, when the boundaries between the living world and that of evil spirits could be temporarily crossed. It’s a tale that has clearly influenced the modern Halloween tradition, where pumpkins are carved with scary faces, lit from within with a candle and placed in windows on Halloween night. One the most famed legends associated with this ghostly time is the intriguing tale of Jack O’Lantern. It is referenced in some of the country’s very earliest literature and has many connections to Irish mythology, with countless tales involving evil spirits and the afterworld. Samhain was a pagan festival dating from Celtic times in Ireland. The precursor to the carved Pumpkin, the far more scary carved Turnip on display in the Museum of Country Life located in Turlough Village near Castlebar, County Mayo in Ireland. ![]()
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