SALT LAKE CITY — A children’s song written in the late 1940s, called “Mr. Jack-o'-Lantern,” says, “Mr. Jack-o'-lantern is very round and fat. He has a yellow candle lit beneath his hat. It makes his face look happy and very, very bright when he winks and smiles at me on spooky Halloween night.”

No modern Halloween celebration would be complete without the attendance of Mr. Jack-o'-lantern. But did you know that the carved, glowing pumpkin on your porch started with a man named Stingy Jack?

The legend of Stingy Jack

According to most sources, including history.com, the tradition of carving pumpkins, which has been going on for centuries, comes from an Irish myth about a clever man called Stingy Jack who tricked the devil.

One evening, Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him. While conversing over a beer, Jack decided to play a little trick on the devil and weasel his way out of paying for the beverages. A smooth talker, Stingy Jack convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack would use to pay for the drinks.

The devil agreed. But Jack, devious as always, decided to keep the coin. He put it in his pocket along with a small silver cross, which prevented the devil from changing back into his normal self.

A year later, Jack freed the devil, but only under the condition that he could not bother Jack for one year and if Jack should die, the god of hell could not claim his soul.

Unable to give up his trickster ways, Jack fooled the devil a second time shortly after their agreement. Somehow Jack talked the devil into climbing a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While the devil was up in the tree, Jack quickly carved a cross into the trunk, trapping the devil once again.

In order to get free, the devil had to make a new bargain in which he left Jack alone for 10 years. The devil agreed, but Jack’s bargain did not end well.

Only a few years later, Stingy Jack died. According to the myth, God would not allow Jack into heaven and the devil, as payback for being deceived, would also not accept his soul. When Jack came to the gates of hell, the devil handed him a small burning coal and sent his soul off to wander the world for all eternity.

Jack carved a turnip to use as a lantern and put the coal inside to light his endless path. The Irish referred to this roaming ghost as "Jack of the Lantern" and later "Jack-o'-lantern."

A new tradition is born

To ward off the spirit of Stingy Jack and other evil apparitions, people in Ireland and Scotland would carve scary faces into lanterns made from turnips, potatoes and large beets. When immigrants from these countries came to America, they began to make their lanterns with pumpkins, a fruit native to America and perfect for the task.

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In the early 19th century the tradition became popular as part of the fall harvest and All Hallow’s Eve celebrations. All Hallow’s Eve, later Halloween, observed on the night of Oct. 31, was believed to be a time when spirits freely roamed the earth, when the veil between our world and the world of the dead was thin. Jack-o'-lanterns, with their spooky grins and scary faces, helped to deter evil spirits from entering a house.

As Halloween evolved into a more light-hearted celebration, a time for children’s activities, costumes and family parties, superstitions falling away, the jack-o'-lantern remained to decorate porches and greet trick-or-treaters.

The carving itself evolved beyond a frightening face. Different tools and carving techniques help create complex designs far beyond the simple knife carvings of yesteryear. Today, patterns can be found online for just about anything your creativity can imagine, from famous people’s faces, Halloween characters, animals and logos, words and sayings, movie and book characters, custom images and more.

In recent years, pumpkin carving has even become a unique form of art and sport, with experts putting out incredible displays each year to wow crowds and judges. Artist teams can be hired to create impressive custom pumpkins for parties and events, professionals compete in lucrative contests, and each year someone creates something new and memorable.

All thanks to that trickster Stingy Jack.

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About the Author: Teri Harman

*Teri Harman, author and book enthusiast, writes a biweekly column for ksl.com and contributes book-related segments to Studio 5. Her debut novel, "Blood Moon," is now available in stores and online. Join in the magic and chaos at teriharman.com.**

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