| knows for sure when the first Jack-o-lanterns were | | | | change back again. The Devil agrees and when he |
| made. In ancient times the Celts celebrated the feast | | | | changes into a coin, Jack quickly places the coin into |
| of Samhain (pronounced: SOW'en) in Ireland and | | | | his wallet next to a cross, preventing the Devil from |
| Scotland, and that holiday eventually became known | | | | changing back. Jack then strikes another bargain with |
| as Halloween. The Celts believed that on that day the | | | | the irate Devil, telling him he will release him only if he |
| spirits of the dead roamed the earth and would visit | | | | promises not to bother Jack for some time. |
| the homes where they once lived. Costumes and | | | | Years later, Jack is walking down a country road |
| lanterns carved from turnips, potatoes and beets were | | | | when the Devil comes to claim his soul. Thinking quickly, |
| used to frighten away evil spirits, as they are today. | | | | Jack tempts the Devil to climb a tree for an apple. |
| The lanterns eventually became known as | | | | When the Devil climbs the tree, Jack carves a cross |
| Jack-o-lanterns. | | | | into the tree, preventing the Devil from getting down. |
| When Christianity spread through Britain and Ireland, | | | | Jack then forces the Devil to promise never take his |
| Samhain gradually became known as All Hallow's Eve | | | | soul, and the Devil, reluctantly, agrees. |
| or Halloween. A tale began to be told in Ireland of a | | | | Jack eventually dies and tries to get into heaven, but |
| man named Jack, who almost lost his soul to the Devil | | | | heaven won't have him because he's spent a lifetime |
| but who tricks him instead. | | | | being dishonest, drinking, tricking, and being mean. So |
| Different versions of the tale exist, but in one version, | | | | Jack goes to hell and tries to enter, but he can't enter |
| Jack, a n'er-do-well, gets so drunk one Halloween that | | | | there either because he'd made the Devil promise |
| the Devil comes to steal his soul. Jack delays by | | | | never to take his soul. So the Devil tells Jack he has to |
| asking the devil if they can have one last drink before | | | | leave the way he came, by a dark and treacherous |
| descending to hell. The Devil agrees, but Jack then | | | | path. Frightened, Jack begs the Devil for a light, and the |
| says he doesn't have enough money for the drinks, | | | | Devil throws Jack a coal from hell. Jack puts the coal |
| but if the devil is willing to change himself into a coin, | | | | into a half-eaten turnip to make a lantern, and turns to |
| they can pay for the drinks and then the Devil can | | | | roam his path endlessly with nowhere to rest. |