Hi, listeners, It's e J. Miller. I'm the writer and creator
here at Fast Food Horror. Before we go any further, I want to
thank you for again joining us for another installment in our anthology. Now that
spooky season is quickly upon us, we'd like to, over the next few
weeks, take different aspects of our favorite holiday and explain why they are.
But we'll be doing that in a Fast Food Horror kind of way, in
a creepy kind of way. We hope you enjoy it. Now, if
I could find Igor, we can actually Igor Igor. Where is that sack
of bones? We can't start the show without him. He's got to do
the intro. Without Igor, there is no show. Where could he be?
He's probably done in the dungeon, that sack of bones? I what
do you? I go? Or what are you doing? We have to
start the show. The listeners are waiting. I'm sorry, e J.
I had my scare pods and I barely heard you even come in your scare
pods? What okay, I'll give What are you even listening to? I'm
binge listening my new favorite podcast. It's Two Crows. It's these delightful women
that talk about paranormal, scary things that have happened through history, and it's
so devastatingly creepy and chock full of information. I just can't get enough.
There are so many episodes. Well, I'm glad you found something to listen
to. I found. I'm glad you found something educational and something you seem
so excited by. But we have to do our show, and we can't
do our show without you. So if you could please hit pause and whatever
episode you're listening to of Two Crows and at least do the intro and hit
the button with the music so our listeners can hear our show, and then
both of us can get some lunch, put our chairs back in the cemetery,
watch the werewolves play in the moors, and listen to Two Crows together.
It's everywhere and anywhere podcasts are found, right. Oh is it on
YouTube? Oh yes, e Jay, it is. It's on YouTube,
It's on Apple, it's on Spotify, It's everywhere. It's wonderful. But
let me let me start the show and then we can entertain our guests.
I'll just hit this button. Welcome listeners to our latest episode entitled The Tale
of the jack O lantern. We hope you find it insightful yet creepy.
Welcome, weary traveler, Come join me by the fire and warm up a
bit, and I'll tell you a tale of the Jack o lantern. Yes,
the punk can we carve up with the face. There is a story
behind it, a story that goes back many, many a generation. The
Irish tell of a man named Jack Stingy Jack to the exact. Oh,
He's known by other names too, Jack, the Smith, Jack, the
drunk, drunk Jack, blakey Jack. He was a miserly old man,
a drunkard who ran about town telling lies, telling tales, deceiving, manipulating,
and tricking people. And not the ha ha kind of tricks either.
Many of the tricks who did were mean spirited, and many of the tricks
and lies he told were to cheat those out of money or just to be
plain hurtful. Now, Jack's forked tongue, lies and antics got the at
tension of those in heaven and Hell, mostly those in Hell, specifically the
Devil himself. He was unconvinced and envious of Jack's ways. So the devil
went to find out for himself whether or not Jack lived up to his vile
reputation. So on one cold autumn's eve, close to the witching hour,
Jack found himself walking in the wood and came upon the devil. Now,
there are two stories about this encounter with old Scratch, both very similar and
both having the same outcome. I will tell you the most common tale the
weary travelers of the Emerald Isle that passed on to me Jack. The devil
had come to finally collect his soul, but Jack, being Jack, asked
for one request before going off to Hell, that he might have one more
drink of ale before going. The devil acquiesced to the simple request, and
they made their way to a local tavern. Jack being the drunkard, he
was down many a pint. When his throat was finally quenched, he asked
the devil to pay his tab, which shocked the devil because he did not
carry any money. Jack convinced him to turn himself into a silver coin with
which to pay the bartender, and then changed back. When the bartender wasn't
looking, the devil did so, impressed by Jack's shrewd tactus Jack, quick
as a whip duck, the now transmorgified devil coin into his pocket, which
also contained a crucifix. The crucifix's presence kept the devil from escaping his form.
Jack then did a bargain with the devil. In exchange for his freedom,
he agreed not to collect Jack's soul. Now, eventually, the drinking
took its toll on Jack and he did die. Stingy. Jack prepared to
enter heaven through the gates of Saint Peter, but he was stopped. Jack
was told by God that because of his sinful lifestyle and deceitfulness and drinking,
he was not allowed into heaven. Jack then went down to the gates of
Hell and begged for admission into the underworld. The devil, fulfilling his obligation
and promised to Jack, could not take his soul. He gave Jack a
glowing ember from the fires of hell to light his way, which Jack in
turn placed inside a hollowed out turnip, and is doomed to roam between the
flames of good and evil with only an ember inside the hollow'd out turnip to
light his way, thus becoming Jack of the Lantern or Jack o lanterns.
Roaming the earth ever since now, over the generation peoples have carved out their
own lanterns out of turnips or potatoes to ward off evil spirits on all hollow's
eve. As the traditions spread, pumpkins have become the preferred choice for carving,
which is how we have the jack o' lanterns you see to day.
So should you see in your travels a light moving aimlessly throughout the wood on
some cold autumn's eve, beware it might be stingy Jack, and he might
be in the mood to play some mischievous trick on some poor unsuspecting traveler.
Happy travels,