This week: Watch out for Stingy Jack Edited by: Arakun the Twisted Raccoon  
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Quote for the week:
"When the riddled fields are gathered and gleaned
From the shadow of a killing freeze
And twilights fall to copper moons
That dance with barren trees
When comes the final harvest home
Beneath the silver light
When weary feet tread that dusky road
Jack O'Lantern walks the night."
~From "The Four Jacks" by Emerald Rose |
According to an old Irish story, there once lived a drunkard named Stingy Jack, also known as Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, or Flaky Jack. Jack was a mean old miser who often played cruel tricks on others. His tricks eventually got him in trouble when he tricked both an angel and the devil.
In a story in an 1836 edition of the Dublin Penny Journal, Jack helped a man who was really an angel. As a reward, the angel granted Jack three wishes. Jack used the wishes to punish anyone who sat in his chair, took wood from his tree, or tried to use his tools, by sticking them to the ground. The angel was disappointed in the way Jack used the three wishes and barred him from ever entering heaven.
Later, Satan came to take Jack's soul to hell for his many sins. Jack asked if he could have one last drink before going to hell, so Satan took him to a pub. When it came time to pay for the drink, Jack had no money, so he asked Satan to turn himself into a coin. Jack immediately pocketed the coin and placed it in a pocket with a crucifix, which prevented Satan from escaping. In exchange for his freedom, Jack demanded that the devil would not collect his soul for another ten years.
When Satan returned to collect his soul ten years later, Jack again had a last request. This time he asked to eat one more apple before going to hell. When Satan climbed a tree to get the apple for him, Jack surrounded the tree with crucifixes, imprisoning the devil in the tree. This time, Jack demanded that the devil would never take his soul. Since he had no other choice, Satan agreed.
When Jack finally died, he was barred from heaven by the angel, but could not go to hell because of his agreement with the devil. He was condemned to wander the earth forever as a lost soul. Satan took pity on him and gave him one lit coal to light his way. He placed the light inside a carved root vegetable which he used as a lantern.
When people saw swamp lights, also known as will o' the wisp, they sometimes said it was Jack wandering the earth with his lantern. People also carved scary faces into hollowed root vegetables and placed lights inside them to scare evil spirits away from their homes. The vegetables they used were usually beets, rutabagas, or turnips. Pumpkins were unknown in Europe at that time. Irish immigrants brought this tradition with them to North America, but began using pumpkins and other gourds, which were larger and more suitable for carving than the smaller root vegetables.
Jack in these stories may be a version of a more generalized trickster from folklore known as Jack of the Woods, Jack of the Fields, or Jack of the Tales. He was seen as a more benign figure, often a hero who used cunning and trickery to overcome challenges or evil characters.
Something to try: Write a horror story that includes a pumpkin or Jack O'Lantern.
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Horror/Scary: October 08, 2025 Issue [#13389]
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