You probably have a specific memory of it. The slimy, cold sensation of reaching your hand into a cold orange gourd. The smell of raw squash mixing with a flickering tea light. It’s a mess. Honestly, it’s a lot of work for something that’s just going to rot on your driveway in ten days. But every October, millions of us do it anyway. Have you ever actually stopped to wonder how did carving pumpkins start? Because, spoiler alert, it wasn’t actually about pumpkins, and it definitely wasn't about being "cute."
It was about survival. Or at least, the fear of what happens after you die.
Long before the suburbs of America were littered with plastic skeletons, the people of Ireland and Scotland were dealing with a much harsher reality. They didn’t have big, fleshy Atlantic Giant pumpkins. Those are native to the Americas. Instead, they had turnips. Hard, woody, stubborn root vegetables. If you’ve ever tried to cut a raw turnip, you know it’s like trying to carve a bowling ball. Yet, these were the original canvases for what we now call Jack-o’-lanterns.
The Drunkard Named Jack
The whole tradition is rooted in a folktale that feels more like a bar story than a bedtime one. It centers on a guy known as "Stingy Jack." According to Irish folklore, Jack was a manipulator who managed to trick the Devil not once, but twice.
In one version of the story, Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Jack didn’t want to pay, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin. Jack then skipped the bill and shoved the coin into his pocket next to a silver cross, which kept the Devil from shifting back. He only let him go on the condition that the Devil wouldn't bother him for a year.
A year later, Jack tricked him again—this time into climbing a tree to pick fruit. Jack carved a sign of the cross into the bark, trapping the Devil up there until he promised not to take Jack’s soul when he died.
When Jack finally kicked the bucket, God didn't want a trickster like him in heaven. But the Devil, keeping his word (and probably still a bit annoyed), wouldn't let him into hell either. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a single burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal inside a hollowed-out turnip and has been wandering the earth ever since.
He’s the original "Jack of the Lantern."
Why Turnips?
It sounds weird now, but turnips, beets, and potatoes were the standard. People in the British Isles began carving scary faces into these vegetables to scare away Stingy Jack and any other wandering spirits that might be out on Samhain.
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Samhain was the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of the "dark half" of the year. People believed that on the night of October 31, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead grew thin. You didn't want a ghost or a "pooka" (a shapeshifting spirit) knocking on your door. So, you’d set a carved turnip on your gatepost to say "keep moving."
If you look at photos of historical Irish turnip lanterns—museums like the National Museum of Ireland have some on display—they are terrifying. Unlike the smiling, goofy pumpkins we see today, these turnip faces were gaunt and ghoulish. They looked like shrunken heads.
The Great Migration and the Pumpkin Upgrade
So, when did the turnip get fired?
The shift happened when Irish and Scottish immigrants fled the Potato Famine and other hardships in the 19th century. When they landed in North America, they brought their traditions with them. But they found something much better than a turnip: the pumpkin.
Native to the New World, pumpkins were softer, larger, and much easier to hollow out. Imagine trying to fit a candle inside a potato versus a large gourd. It was a no-brainer. By the mid-1800s, carving pumpkins was becoming a staple of American autumn life.
It’s kind of funny. We think of it as this ancient, unchanged thing. But the pumpkin lantern is really an immigrant success story. It’s a European tradition that found a better "tool" in the American soil.
From Scaring Spirits to Winning Contests
By the late 1800s, the "scary" element started to fade into something more social. Halloween parties became common. Victorian-era magazines like Godey’s Lady’s Book began mentioning pumpkin decorations. It wasn't just about warding off the Devil anymore; it was about community.
Then came the 20th century, and everything went big.
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In the 1960s and 70s, a guy named Howard Dill in Nova Scotia changed the game forever. He spent years crossbreeding pumpkins to create the "Dill’s Atlantic Giant." Before this, pumpkins were generally small—maybe 20 or 30 pounds. Dill’s work eventually led to pumpkins that weigh over 2,000 pounds. While you probably aren't carving a one-ton gourd, his work influenced the "Jack-o’-lantern" variety you buy at the grocery store today. They are literally bred to have thin walls and a flat bottom for carving.
How Carving Pumpkins Start: The Science of Decay
One thing that hasn't changed since the 1800s is that these things rot. Fast.
The moment you break the skin of a pumpkin, you’re introducing bacteria and fungi to a sugary, moist environment. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet for mold. If you’ve ever wondered why your masterpiece looks like a melting pile of orange goo after three days, it’s because you’ve basically performed surgery on a living organism and then left it outside.
Experts in food science—and people who take the New Hampshire "Pumpkin Festival" very seriously—suggest that the reason the tradition persisted is actually tied to the harvest cycle. Once the harvest was in, you had excess. You had "waste" vegetables that weren't going to last the winter anyway. Carving them was a way to use up the bounty while celebrating the transition of the seasons.
What People Get Wrong About the History
There's a common misconception that the Catholic Church invented the Jack-o'-lantern to represent souls in purgatory.
While the Church did move "All Saints' Day" to November 1st (likely to "baptize" the pagan Samhain festival), the carving of vegetables seems to be much more rooted in folk belief than official religious doctrine. It was the "folk" doing it—the farmers, the villagers, the kids.
Another myth? That pumpkins were always associated with Halloween.
Actually, in the early days of the United States, pumpkins were more associated with Thanksgiving. They were a symbol of the American harvest. It took a few decades of Irish cultural influence for the pumpkin to be "claimed" by October 31.
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Modern Variations and New Traditions
Today, the answer to how did carving pumpkins start has evolved into a massive industry. You’ve got:
- Extreme Carving: People using linoleum cutters and clay loops to create 3D portraits rather than just cutting holes.
- The Teal Pumpkin Project: A modern movement where people paint pumpkins teal to signify they have non-food treats for kids with allergies.
- Pumpkin Regattas: People literally hollowing out giant pumpkins and racing them like boats in lakes.
It's a long way from a coal-lit turnip in a dark Irish field.
How to Make Your Tradition Last
If you're going to participate in this centuries-old tradition this year, you might as well do it right. History shows us that the goal was always visibility—making that light shine as bright as possible.
1. Wait until the last minute. Seriously. If you carve five days before Halloween, you’re inviting the mold. Most pros suggest carving no more than 24 to 48 hours before the big night.
2. Use the "Chimney" trick. If you’re using a real candle, don't just put the lid back on. Cut a small hole in the back or the top to let the heat escape. Otherwise, you’re basically cooking the inside of the pumpkin, which speeds up the rotting process.
3. Preservation is key. Some people swear by a light coating of petroleum jelly on the cut edges to seal in moisture. Others use a weak bleach solution (about one tablespoon per gallon of water) to kill the bacteria on the surface before they set it out.
4. Don't throw it in the trash. When November 1 rolls around, remember that your Jack-o'-lantern is still organic matter. If you haven't used paint or glitter, smash it up and bury it in your garden or take it to a local composting site. It’s a great way to give back to the soil that grew it.
The journey from a "Stingy Jack" turnip to a 20-pound orange gourd is a weird, winding path through folklore, immigration, and agricultural science. We carve because our ancestors carved. We light the fire because they lit the fire. It’s a small, slightly gross way of keeping the darkness at bay for just one more night.
Whether you’re trying to scare off the Devil or just trying to be the coolest house on the block, you're part of a story that’s been told for hundreds of years. Just maybe wear gloves if you don't like the "guts."