Some Pumpkin & Devil History

Pumpkins and More - Pumpkin History

From UIUC EDU:
“People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The
practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed ‘Stingy
Jack.’ According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have
a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his
drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could
use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the
money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented
the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed
the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year
and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack
again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit.
While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s
bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack
not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an
unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played
on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack
into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal
to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been
roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly
figure as ‘Jack of the Lantern,’ and then, simply ‘Jack O’Lantern.’
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack%u2019s
lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them
into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering
evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries
brought the jack o%u2019lantern tradition with them when they came to the
United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America,
make perfect jack o%u2019lanterns.”