The Story of Stinky Jack
The devil would have asked Jack for his soul, but before that Jack wanted to drink with the devil first. The devil agreed, and you guessed it: when Bill arrived, we all know that awful moment. Jack expected the devil to pay, and the devil had no choice.
Hold on tight, because now it gets exciting. Jack is a clever boy and convinces the devil to turn himself into a coin to pay. The devil obeyed, he knew: Jack skipped the bill and slipped the coin into his pocket, next to which was a silver cross. The devil was imprisoned. Jack released the devil on the condition that the devil not bother him for another ten years.
On the first day of the eleventh year, the devil reappears and asks Jack for his soul. This time, Jack did not give in immediately, and asked the devil to do one thing: take an apple from the tree so that Jack would eat it on his way to hell. The devil climbed the tree. But Jack did not wait for the devil and carved a cross on the bark of the tree. The devil is trapped again and begs Jack to let him out. Jack did, but only if the devil would leave him alone for good.
When Jack died, he could not go to heaven: they accused him of conspiring with the devil. Jack is not welcome in Hell because the Devil promises to leave him alone. Conclusion: He wandered around forever. The devil threw a flaming match after Jack to light his long, dark path. It got stuck in the potato Jack was eating. Thus he made a home-made candlestick, the A jack-o’-lantern.
That’s why Jack’s ghost still restlessly roams the earth. What better way to scare that procession? With horrified faces, you carve into slices of vegetables.
