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By late September, pumpkins begin appearing in shop windows, orange and black take over the shelves, and witches and bats hang above the displays. Whether you celebrate Halloween or simply walk past it on your way to buy groceries, it is hard to miss.
But how did it all begin? Why do we dress as frightening creatures and carve faces into pumpkins? The answers take us to Ireland, to a feast marking the start of winter, places left beside the fire for the dead, and a man who tricked the Devil.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Samhain: A Feast for the Living and a Place for the Dead
Once the last crops had been harvested and supplies stored for the colder months, it was time to celebrate. In Irish tradition, Samhain marked the beginning of winter on November 1, but celebrations began the evening before, on October 31. Families gathered to celebrate a successful harvest, with their winter supplies safely stored away. They marked the occasion with a feast of traditional dishes, fruit, nuts and freshly baked bread.
Families also prepared barmbrack, a sweet bread with dried fruit that is still eaten in Ireland at Halloween. Apples provided both food and entertainment. They floated in a bowl of water while players tried to catch them with their teeth, without using their hands. This game, known as apple bobbing, remains part of Halloween celebrations.
But the feast was not prepared only for the living. People believed that on Samhain night, the boundary between the human and supernatural worlds grew thin, allowing the souls of their ancestors to find their way back to their former homes. Food was left for them, more wood was added to the fire, and the best seats beside the hearth were kept free. In a house warmed by an open fire, these were the warmest and most valued places. While the family ate and talked, the empty seats waited for those who were no longer there.
Yet not every visitor that night was welcome. People believed that malevolent beings also roamed outside, so they avoided going out unnecessarily, especially traveling alone. The darkness outside belonged to beings no one wanted to invite to their table.
The custom of dressing in disguise was also associated with this fear. People hid their faces behind masks and took on the appearance of frightening creatures to confuse the spirits. They believed that if a spirit failed to recognize the human beneath the mask, it would leave them alone. A face that frightened someone else could offer protection to the person wearing it.
For the beloved dead, a place was left beside the fire. From the others, people hid their faces.
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Stingy Jack Who Tricked the Devil
According to one Irish folktale, Jack was a blacksmith with a fondness for drinking, gambling and playing tricks. Yet after performing a good deed, he was rewarded with three wishes. He was advised to use one to secure a place in Heaven, but Jack had other plans.
He wished that anyone who touched his hammer, sat in his chair or reached for an apple from his tree would remain trapped until he released them.
When the Devil came to claim his soul, Jack persuaded him to pick up the hammer. The Devil could no longer let go of it. In exchange for his release, Jack demanded a few more years of life, and the Devil had to agree.
On his next visit, Jack offered him a chair. When the Devil tried to stand, he realized he had been caught again. He paid for his freedom with another delay.
The third time, Jack asked him to pick an apple before they left. As soon as the Devil reached for the fruit, he became trapped in the tree. This time, Jack demanded a final promise: his soul would never be taken to Hell.
But the promise did not save him from death. When he died, Heaven refused him entry because of the life he had led. He turned to the Devil, who kept his word and refused to let him in.
With no place among the living, in Heaven or in Hell, Jack was condemned to wander the earth. He begged for a light and was given a burning ember. He placed it inside a hollowed-out turnip to light his way. He became Jack of the Lantern, or Jack o’ Lantern. He had managed to escape Hell, but had also closed the last door open to him.
His name also became associated with strange lights people reported seeing over marshes. In folklore, these lights belonged to wandering souls and could lure travelers away from safe paths. Anyone who spotted a distant flame in the darkness was left with an unsettling thought: perhaps it was not the light of someone’s home, but Jack, still searching for his own.
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From Turnips to Pumpkins
Imagine walking home after dark and spotting a face glowing beside a gate. Its eyes are hollow, its mouth twisted, and a small flame flickers inside its head. Someone has left it there hoping you will jump. It is Halloween in Ireland, and the face belongs to a turnip.
Like the lantern in Jack’s tale, these turnips were hollowed out to hold a light. People carved frightening faces into them and placed them on windowsills, walls and gates. While Jack needed his lantern to find his way through the darkness, the neighbors could use theirs to make your walk home a little less comfortable.
One of those faces escaped the usual fate of a vegetable. In 1943, a teacher near Fintown in Donegal sent a turnip lantern to the National Museum of Ireland. Museum artist Eileen Barnes made and painted a plaster copy. The turnip would eventually decay, but its grim expression survived.
Meanwhile, Irish immigrants had carried the tradition to America. There they found a more convenient candidate: the pumpkin. It was plentiful, larger and easier to carve. The hard little turnip gave way to a round orange head with room for an even bigger grin.
The vegetable changed, but Jack kept his name on the lantern. And whoever placed it outside could still hope to hear a startled cry from the gate.