Many, many years ago in Ireland, there was a man named Jack.

He was a blacksmith by trade,

which means he worked with iron, but when he wasn't working, he was a very unkind and
selfish person. He often played tricks on people and was known for his cruel behavior, which
gave him the nickname "Stingy Jack." He had no kindness in his heart, and everyone feared
him, even the church priests and children. His bad reputation spread far and wide, so much so
that stories about his tricks even reached the depths of hell and caught the attention of Satan
himself.

When the devil heard of Stingy Jack's terrible reputation, he couldn't believe that such an evil
man existed. So, he decided to meet Jack. One evening, while Jack was walking in the
countryside, Satan disguised himself as a dead man hanging from a tree branch and waited for
Jack to come near. When Jack saw the lifeless body he saw a wicked expression, he knew that
the devil had come to take his soul.

But before leaving the living world, Jack asked for one final favor from the devil. Surprisingly,
Satan agreed and allowed Jack to have one more drink. They went to the nearest tavern, and
one drink turned into many. When it was time to pay, Jack convinced the devil, who had
magical powers, to transform into a coin to cover the bill. But instead of paying, Jack placed the
coin in his pocket, and the devil was trapped by a crucifix that Jack had in his pocket.

Jack made a deal with the devil. He promised to free him in exchange for another decade of
life. With no other choice, Satan agreed. Ten years later, it was time for Jack to honor his part of
the deal. When Satan came, Jack asked the devil for an apple because the trip to hell was long
and he was hungry. As Satan reached for an apple from a near tree, Jack quickly carved four
crucifixes on the tree trunk, trapping the devil once again.

Jack told the devil: “I will give you your freedom in return for never going to hell” and Satan,
with little choice, agreed to his terms. Jack lived the rest of his life knowing he had outsmarted
the devil not once but twice and that he would not go to hell.

When Jack eventually passed away, he didn't go to hell as expected. However, he was denied
entry into heaven because he had lived a life filled with cruelty, excessive drinking, and
mistreatment of others. So, Jack had to go to hell, but when he arrived, the devil also refused
to take him, both to honor their previous agreements and for revenge against Jack´s traps.

Stuck in the dark void between heaven and hell, Jack asked the devil for a light to find his way.
Satan handed him an ember from the fires of hell. Jack carved a lantern out of a turnip to carry
the burning ember. From that day on, people saw Jack's ghost wandering the Irish countryside,
carrying his lantern. Whenever they spotted mysterious lights, they would say, "That's just Jack
of the Lantern."

To keep Jack's spirit away from their homes, people began carving scary faces into turnips and
rutabagas and placed them on their doorsteps with candles inside on October 31st, the day
when spirits could pass into the world of the living. Over time, they started using large
pumpkins for this purpose, and these became known as Jack-o'-Lanterns in honor of the man
who had outwitted the devil twice and was doomed to wander the world forever.