The Sacred Hearth

Once upon a time, a man name Jack encountered Death. To postpone the inevitable, d he invited him out for a drink. But Jack didn’t bring along any money. He convinced Death to turn himself into a coin in order to trick the bar tender.

But Jack, the wicked boy that he was, didn’t pay for his drink. Instead he slipped out the back door and put the coin in his pocket. Death, thus trapped in Jack’s pocket, found himself in a very bad spot. Finally, after much undignified pleading on Death's part, Jack agreed to set him free if he would promise not to ever claim his soul. Death agreed and was set free.

Jack continued to grow older and older, soon a shadow of his former self; a horrible, frightening vision, withered and bent, that caused women to faint, men to turn pale and small children to burst into tears at the sight of him. Death, keeping his word, did not claim his soul and, further, refused to allow him passage into the underworld, no matter how much he begged. Jack was doomed to wander the earth forever, confined to the shadows, where his ghastly appearance would frighten no one. But, Death is really not such a bad guy. He took pity on Jack and gave him a bit of coal to light his way. Jack put the piece of coal into a carved out turnip, which he carries to this day.

Over the years, people in Ireland and Scotland have claimed to have seen Jack out wandering at night with his turnip lantern. He was called “Jack of the Lantern” or “Jack O’ Lantern”. People began to make their own versions of Jack's lantern with turnips, potatoes and beets. After they came to the New World, bringing their traditions with them, they found pumpkins (a native American fruit) worked even better for the purpose!

retold by Dawn Black