The legend of Stingy Jack begins with a trick. Jack invited the Devil for a drink, then convinced him to pay by turning into a coin. Jack slipped the coin into his pocket next to a silver cross, trapping the Devil until he promised not to claim Jack’s soul.

When Jack died, neither heaven nor hell would take him. The Devil handed him a glowing coal, which Jack placed inside a hollowed turnip to light his way through the darkness. To keep his wandering spirit away, people carved eerie faces into their own turnips.

This tradition took root during Samhain, when people believed spirits and fairies could cross into our world. Grotesque turnip lanterns were meant to scare off the evil ones.

When Irish immigrants brought the custom to the U.S., they discovered pumpkins which were larger, brighter, and far easier to carve than turnips. And so the turnip’s eerie glow gave way to the pumpkin’s bright Halloween grin.