[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Author Index][Search Archives]

[Fwd: [TY] Halloween/ Samhain Stories]

-- BEGIN included message

How about some period / pseudo-period Halloween stories?  I'll start:

THE LEGEND OF JACK-O-LANTERN

	Once there was a man named Jack.  He was a godless sort, always
drinking, gambling, and pursuing other pleasures, including lying and
telling a story to get himself out of a fix.  Well, before long the Devil
heard about old Jack, and came to get him.  Jack was not about to stop
enjoying his earthly pleasures, so he made a bargian with Ol' Nick. 
There was to be a race up a tree, and the fastest one up would win. 
Well, Satan knew he was the quickest one around, so he gladly agreed to
the bet.  So up the tree he went, flying to the highest branch in a
flash.  Jack, in the meantime, stayed right where he was, and as soon as
the Devil started up the tree, Jack went straight to the base, and carved
a cross in the bark.  Satan was trapped up in the tree, because he could
not pass over the sign of the Lord.  Jack tipped his hat and said
good-bye to the Devil, and went on his sinful way.  
	In the fullness if time, Jack's body gave out, and he left this
earthly coil.  He headed up to Heaven, thinking himself a virtuous man
and deserving of his just rewards.  Needless to say, he never got past
the gates, and was told to seek entrance below.  Well, the Devil has a
long memory, and he was still smarting about that incident with the tree.
 He told Jack that Hell wouldn't have him, and that he was welcome to
wander around in limbo for the rest of eternity as far as Satan was
concerned.  Jack pleaded for pity, (a sad case that, pleadin' with the
Devil for merciful entrance to Hell)
but the Satan was unmoved.  Finally Jack said "At least give me some
coals to light my way".  Now Satan had his fair share of coals and more,
but he would only part with one single coal.  Jack had been knawing on a
turnip at the time, and so he ate out the center of the turnip, and put
the coal inside, with holes in the side for the light to shine through. 
To this day he wanders in limbo, and we carve Jack-o-lanterns to light
the way for all souls wandering in the gloom.  

(Irish imigrants in the late 1800's came to America and found few
turnips, but fields full of pumpkins.  Already hollow, they became a
natural replacement for turnips.  [I don't like turnips anyway.  And have
you ever tried to carve out a turnip? I have, and its no picnic, I can
tell you.  Not only that, but if you find a turnip large enough to carve
and sucessfully get a candle inside it, you then have to smell burning
turnip all night.  Thank goodness for Irish inginuity, I say.])

		Ooooo, spooooky!
		Christianna

-- END included message