The Story of the Jack O'Lantern comes from many Irish folktales. Most of the tales tell about a stingy man named Jack who managed to trick the devil, only to receive his comeuppance when he died. Jack was left to wander the earth without access to heaven or hell, carrying a lantern caved from a turnip with a burning coal tucked inside. For hundreds of hears in Ireland, people would carve out vegetables such as turnips, gourds, and potatos and light them to scare away the spirits.