Original Jack o’ lanterns were actually carved turnips, beets, and potatoes.
Jack o’ lanterns come from an old Celtic legend about a man named “Stingy Jack,” who used to play tricks on the devil. After Stingy Jack died, the devil sent him into the night with only burning coal – which Jack put into a carved turnip to light his way.
According to folklore, Stingy Jack’s ghost still wanders the Earth – so the Irish used to carve scary faces into turnips and put them in windows to scare his spirit away. When the influx of Irish immigrants came to America, they found that the pumpkin – which they had never encountered before – was a much better fit for the tradition.
