The Schlicken Empire

October 31, 2007

The Tale of Stingy Jack O’Lantern

This is the story of Stingy Jack O’Lantern, told to me by my Irish grandfather, while he carved the pumpkins at Halloween. The same story his old Grandpop told at Halloween. My grandfather has long since passed away, bless his soul, and now I’m passing the story on to you.

Many, many grandfathers ago, there was a man named Jack, who was called Stingy Jack, for he was as stingy as he was cunning; a trickster a thief, and a roamer, with no home to belong to. Jack never paid for anything that he could connive, beg, borrow or steal, and he lived off the land – other people’s, that is.

One Halloween, Stingy Jack was in a tavern, looking to see who he could cheat at cards, when the devil came in. Yes, its well known that the devil walks abroad on Halloween, and where else would he drop in, but a tavern? Now Jack, recognizing the devil, thought to trick him – just for the hell of it, so to speak!

So Jack acted drunk – well, actually he was already a bit drunk, of course, and lamented loud, for all to hear, how he would sell his soul for a silver coin, to buy him a few more drinks, to get wildly drunk that night. And the devil came up to Jack, all quiet and secretive like, and told how he would be happy to oblige.

“Fine”, said Jack, “Do ye turn yeself into a silver coin, an I’ll spend it on whiskey, get as drunk as a lord, then you can turn yourself back and have my soul, for at least I’ll die happy.”

And quick as a wink, while no-one else was watching, the devil turned himself into a silver coin, because the devil is always hungry for souls.

Just as quickly, Jack grabbed the silver coin, and dropped it in his pocket. For in that pocket, he had a silver cross, that he’d stolen earlier from round the neck of a sleeping babe, while the mother was busy, doing the milking.

The devil was in agony, dropt on top of that cross, and bound to it too, because the cross stopped all of his powers, and he could not escape nor change himself back.

“Let me out of here” he cried, ” or it will be the worse for you, Jack”.

But Jack ignored the threats, and soon they turned to pleas, with the devil a begging Jack to let him go and offering to pay him for the privilege.

Now Jack didn’t need much money, because he could get almost everything he wanted by thieving, and tricking and lying and cheating at cards. But he’d lived a sinful life, and he knew he must die one day, as must we all, so he let the devil go, but only in return for the solemn promise that the devil would never take Jack’s soul to Hell….....

...And one day, years later, Jack died. One moment, he was standing there, munching on a stolen turnip and thinking what else to steal, and the next moment, he was at the Pearly Gates, still with the turnip in his hand.

Of course, Heaven wouldn’t let such a sinner inside, so the Pearly Gates were barred to him. Jack then followed the downward path, to Hell. But the devil was bound by his solemn promise, and the gates of Hell were barred to Jack as well. There was to be no resting place for Jack’s soul.

So Jack scooped up an ember cast out from the Fires of Hell, into a hollow in that turnip he’d been munching, made the hollow a little larger with his pocket knife, and made some holes for the light to come out. Then he set to eternally roaming the dark regions between the worlds, like he had roamed the earth when alive, but with his carved lantern to light his way. And thus he became known as Jack O’Lantern….........

....If you get lost in the mists on a dark night, or if it’s a new moon, you may see Jack’s lantern, wandering through the mists and darkness. Be sure not to follow, for he’s a restless and evil soul; harm would surely come to you, and you would be lost to this world.

And on Halloween, when the veil between the worlds is thin, and evil spirits roam the world, decent and honest people need to protect themselves, to ward off harm. – What better ward than a Jack-O-Lantern?

For the evil spirits fear Jack, and will be warned away by his light. Even Jack O’Lantern himself will back away. For the sight of a lantern, so like to his own lantern that burns with the eternal embers of Hell, will put the fear in him, of what he’s become.

And that is why, every Halloween, the people carve Jack O’Lanterns, from vegetables like turnips, beets, gourds or pumpkins. The lighted lanterns keep the evil spirits at bay, so maybe Jack O’Lantern brought some good to the world, in spite of himself.

[Source: shiningrise.com]

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