Originally, the aforementioned “guisers” would carry hollowed-out turnips with candles inside them to light their way from house to house to beg and pray. Eventually, the tradition changed to carving pumpkins, and Jack-o-Lanterns as we know them were born. One legend sticks out above all others in regards to the Jack-o-lantern tradition. An Irishman named “Stingy Jack” was a drunk and a prankster, and he managed to make both God and the Devil angry. He died, and neither heaven nor hell wanted him, so he was stuck wandering around on earth.