Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's episode is
Speaker 1: another classic from our archives. In this one, we explore
Speaker 1: Halloween tradition that's charming but pretty dang odd when you
Speaker 1: think about it, the carving and lighting of pumpkins into
Speaker 1: jack o' lanterns. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren voc obam Here.
Speaker 1: Traditions have always played a big part in what defines
Speaker 1: any holiday, but Halloween's traditions are some of my favorites.
Speaker 1: The costumes, the trigger treaters, the horror flicks, and the
Speaker 1: maccab decor, including jack o' lanterns grinning and glowing next
Speaker 1: to front doors all across America. Like most folklore, the
Speaker 1: history of the jack o lantern varies a bit depending
Speaker 1: on who's telling the story, but all stories involve a
Speaker 1: clever drunkard who pulls one over on the devil. Legend
Speaker 1: has it. In sevente or eighteenth century Ireland, a foul
Speaker 1: moutain disreputable miser named Stingy Jack asked the devil to
Speaker 1: go have a drink with him. Jack was the generic
Speaker 1: name for the common man at the time, hence Jack
Speaker 1: of all trades, every man, Jack, Jack, the ripper, et cetera.
Speaker 1: But back to stingy Jack and his request for a drink.
Speaker 1: The devil obliged, and when the bill came there was
Speaker 1: that awkward moment that we're also familiar with. Jack expected
Speaker 1: the devil to take care of things, and the devil
Speaker 1: thought Jack should pony up. Seeing as how Jack had
Speaker 1: no money anyway, he convinced the devil to turn himself
Speaker 1: into a sixpence coin to pay the bill. The devil
Speaker 1: fell for it, and Jack skipped on the bill, but
Speaker 1: slipped the coin into his pocket, where he had a
Speaker 1: secret weapon, a silver cross. The devil was stuck in
Speaker 1: Jack's pocket, trapped by the cross, but Jack struck a
Speaker 1: deal had let the devil go, provided the devil wouldn't
Speaker 1: come after Jack for a period of one year or
Speaker 1: ten years, depending on who you ask. The devil had
Speaker 1: no choice but to agree. Jack took out the coin
Speaker 1: and the devil returned to his normal form and went
Speaker 1: on his not so merry way. At the end of
Speaker 1: the agreed upon time frame, the devil found Jack for
Speaker 1: a little payback, but somehow Jack convinced him to climb
Speaker 1: a tree in search of an apple for Jack before
Speaker 1: they set off for Hell. The horned one once again obliged,
Speaker 1: only to see Jack carve across into the tree trunk,
Speaker 1: leaving the beast stranded again. Jack had his sights on
Speaker 1: a higher prize. This time, he said had let the
Speaker 1: devil down only if he promised to never claim Jack's
Speaker 1: soul for Hell. The devil had nothing to do but agree.
Speaker 1: When Jack died, St Peter rejected him at the pearly
Speaker 1: gates because of his suspect credentials. The devil wouldn't and couldn't,
Speaker 1: let Jack into Hell for their agreement at the tree.
Speaker 1: In the end, the devil gave Jack a lump of
Speaker 1: burning coal to light his way through purgatory. Jack carried
Speaker 1: the coal inside of a hollowed out turnip. Irish families
Speaker 1: told the tale and began to put carved out turnips
Speaker 1: in their windows to prevent Stingy Jack and other ghouls
Speaker 1: from entering the home. Some had scary faces carved into
Speaker 1: them to frighten such ghosts away. The tail spread to
Speaker 1: Scotland and England, where folks might use potatoes or beats.
Speaker 1: When those families immigrated to America, they realized that the
Speaker 1: pumpkin native to the area was more ideal for carving,
Speaker 1: and that is why you see jack o' lanterns on
Speaker 1: which is around Halloween. Today's episode was written by Emily
Speaker 1: Sane Bogan and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on
Speaker 1: this and lots of other topics, visit how stuff works
Speaker 1: dot com. Brainstuff is production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.