Jack-o'-lantern
A jack-o'-lantern is a carved lantern, usually made from a pumpkin, though people once used turnips or other root vegetables. They are a well-known symbol of Halloween.
The name comes from old lights called jack-o'-lanterns or will-o'-the-wisps. One story links it to Stingy Jack, an Irish legend about a man who lights his way with a carved vegetable after death. Carving vegetables for lanterns began in Ireland and Britain, where people used hollowed turnips or mangelwurzel and carved faces to scare away spirits or protect their homes.
When Irish, Cornish, Scottish, and other Celtic immigrants moved to the United States, they brought the tradition of vegetable lanterns with them. Pumpkins became the preferred vegetable in America because they’re easy to carve and glow nicely inside.
To make a jack-o'-lantern, you cut off the pumpkin’s top, scoop out the inside, and carve a face or other design on the rind. A light, traditionally a candle or tealight, is placed inside, and the lid goes back on. Today, people also use electric lights for safety and convenience.
Jack-o'-lanterns are used as outdoor and indoor Halloween decorations. They’ve appeared in folklore, art, and stories, including images connected to Halloween’s spooky atmosphere. The term comes from a folklore tradition about lights that guided or misled travelers, and eventually came to describe the carved pumpkin lanterns we know today.
Modern records show large pumpkin displays: in 2006, Boston Common lit 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns, and in 2013 Keene, New Hampshire set a new record with 30,581 pumpkins lit at once.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:20 (CET).