The Irish origins of Jack-O-Lanterns
Written by Ciaran on Oct 28, 2025 | 0 Comments
Many who carve Jack-o-lanterns today may not know that, like lots of beloved Halloween traditions, it traces its roots back to Ireland. This is the story of Stingy Jack, aka Jack the Lantern.
The story of Jack of the lantern
Jack was a blacksmith and, it seems, an altogether unpleasant individual. One dark and stormy evening, the Devil came to claim his miserly soul. Now in every telling of the tale I've seen or heard, old Jack manages to trick and trap the Devil, sometimes twice!
Jack offers release only on the agreement that he will never be taken to hell. The Devil grudgingly agrees, and years later, when Jack finally does die, the payback for his run-in with the Devil comes to light.
Being unwelcome in Heaven and barred from Hell, Jack is forced to wander the darkness for eternity, with just a burning coal from the Devil for a lantern to light his way, becoming "Jack the Lantern."
Turnips & pumpkins
The story goes that the lantern that Jack carries was a hollowed-out turnip. People hoping to ward off old Stingy Jack himself and any other evil spirits out and about on Halloween would carve horrifying faces into turnips and leave them as lanterns in their windows.
Anyone who has tried it will tell you that carving a turnip is very tough going! They are hard and not very large. But the end result is undoubtedly CREEEPY!
A horrifying carved turnip from the National Museum of Ireland.
The Irish immigrants who brought their lantern carving skills to America wisely switched to the much more impressive and easy to carve pumpkin to continue their tradition.
This was enthusiastically adopted by one and all in North America, eventually making it's way back home to Ireland! These days pumpkins are everywhere in Ireland and it's rare to find a carved turnip, but they are certainly terrifying!
And walking through the countryside in the dim twilight at this time of year, it's impossible not to be spooked by the story of stingy Jack when you see a small bobbing light glimmering in the distance!
Scary Stories
Tales like that of Jack of the Lantern are at the centre of things around this time of year, as you might expect for a nation with a strong tradition of storytelling!
There are plenty of other scary stories that get shared around Samhain, too. Tales of mischievous fairies and spirits like the Púca, the dreaded Banshee, werewolves, and, who can forget, the Halloween classic, witches?
An Cailleach, the "Winter Witch" from Irish myth and legend who takes control after the sun goes down each October 31st! Brought to life for a Halloween parade by the Macnas Community Theatre Group.
Photo Credit:
Photo Credit: William Murphy (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Many of the colourful cast of characters that we associate with Halloween got their start or were made very famous (Bram Stoker was a Dubliner after all), through spooky Irish stories!
Protection for Samhain
If you fancy more than a pumpkin or turnip for protection, you may want to take a leaf out of stingy Jack's book. A lucky talisman or cross may help to feel protected this Samhain eve!
Jewellery that tells a story
Or if you enjoy storytelling, your jewellery can get in on the act too! Many of our designs have epic origin stories and beautiful meaning. And our Folklore collection is inspired by the rich culture of Irish myth and legend.
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Ciaran
My Irish Jeweler
Born in Co. Antrim and reared in Dublin, I was fascinated with Gaelic culture from an early age. I suppose it's not surprising given my mother inherited a grá for the Irish language from my grandfather, an Irish school headmaster. And that grá continues! My brother and sister are now Gaelic teachers here in Ireland, my niece is an award winning Irish dancer, and I proudly work to share Irish culture through our Irish and Celtic Jewelry at My Irish Jeweler!
I love researching and reading about the history of Irish design. It's at the core of what we do here at My Irish Jeweler. I find much of it so interesting that I have to share what I find. I hope you enjoy it!
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