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Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Stoey of the Jack -o--Lantern



The story of the Jack -O-Lantern , another bed time story for you. A long tie ago an Irishmen named Jack found himself face to face with the Devil while sipping whiskey at a local pub.Satan had come to claim Jack's soul.But Jack ,a con artist to the core ,tricked the Devil into climbing a nearby tree on a dare. No sooner had the Devil Prince Prince triumphantly reached the top branch ,when Jack quickly pulled out a knife and craved a crucifix into the trunk ,trapping the Devil in the tree.
Jack escaped that night with his soul intact,but continued to live out the rest of his days as a trickster and a drunk. When he died at the ripe old age ,Jack was turned away from Heaven's gates for living such a dishonest and sinful life. so arriving at Hell's flaming threshold, Jack found himself staring into Satan's eyes once again.The devil fixed him with an evil glare and refused him entry into the fiery pit. stranded in the blackness between heaven and hell.Jack begged the Devil
for a candle to light his way. The devil threw him a burning coal and turned his back on Jack forever.Jack placed the ember in a craved out turnip ,using it as a lantern as he wandered the nether worlds in anguish.
The Jack -o- Lantern soon became the Irish symbol for a dammed soul and was often placed in a window on Halloween to scare off evil spirits. when the Irish later immigrated to the America .they began using pumpkins to make these superstitious lanterns instead of turnips, which were less plentiful and harder to come by .today , jack -o-Lanterns are a favorite Halloween tradition, used as spooky decorations rather than spiritual watchmen.
More chills and thrills to come later for bed time stories to read .Good night my friends .

3 comments:

The Studio at Crow Haven Farm, LLC said...

Debb, what a great and interesting story. I never heard this one before and I found it to be very interesting indeed. I love how you are doing this old folklore tales and will wait for more. Nice job and now I must go check all my pumpkins hanging about! LOL
Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Love the stories Debb! They take us right in to Halloween! Just where I want to be!
Cindy

Unknown said...

very cool stories...and insight....love the heritage of the stories...history buff...more more more

Smiles,
Sonia ;)