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All About the Jack-O'-Lantern

Dec 27, 2006

Think Jack-O'-Lantern is a friendly guy with a sweet tooth? No way! Get the spooky story on the man behind the pumpkin face!

Halloween's Very Own Scrooge

Jack was a cheap and greedy man, which is how he got the nickname Stingy Jack. He was also really mean and loved to play evil tricks on people - he even used a silver cross to capture the Devil and make him promise to never take his soul, even after he died. Well soon after, Jack died! He wasn't allowed into heaven cuz he hadn't exactly been Mr. Nice Guy, and the Devil, who was keeping his promise, wouldn't let him into hell. He sent Jack off with a burning coal from the fires of Hell to light his way, which he put into a turnip so it wouldn't burn his hands. Ever since, he's been known as Jack of the Lantern, or Jack-O'-Lantern.

The Good Stuff About Being Jack

Jack-O'-Lantern represents all things Halloween - carving pumpkins, dressing up in scary costumes, bobbing for apples and trick-or-treating for candy and chocolate. What a cool guy!

The Bad Stuff About Being Jack

Jack-O'-Lantern doesn't have a warm bed to sleep in or a comfy couch to watch TV on cuz he's homeless. He's been roaming the earth since the 1700s cuz he can't enter either heaven or hell! So if you ever see Jack wandering around, why don't you give him some spare change to buy himself a hot drink?

How Much $$$ Does Jack Make?

We don't know how much Jack-O'-Lantern gets paid on Halloween night, but we're pretty sure he doesn't need any extra cash. Since he's too cheap to spend any of his money, he must be a multi-millionaire by now!

Have Your Say

Do you have any other trivia about Jack? Let us know!