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Description
An improved version of something I did years ago.

This is based on an old Irish folk tale... a notorious drunkard named Jack manages to trap the Devil up an old dead tree by carving a crucifix into the base of the trunk. He agrees to let the demon down, but only if he promises if Jack won't end up in Hell, no matter what sort of life he lives. The Devil grudgingly agrees... but years later, when Jack dies, he discovers he's not welcome in Heaven either. With no place for his spirit to go, he wanders the world in limbo; the Devil gives him an eternally-burning ember, which Jack puts inside a hollowed-out turnip to use as a lantern... or, as it came to be known, "Jack's lantern".

When the tradition of turnip-lanterns made its way to America, the larger and easier-to-carve pumpkin was eventually substituted.

As in the original version of this piece, I wanted it to look like an old illustration on parchment, except I got closer with this one.

Description
An improved version of something I did years ago.

This is based on an old Irish folk tale... a notorious drunkard named Jack manages to trap the Devil up an old dead tree by carving a crucifix into the base of the trunk. He agrees to let the demon down, but only if he promises if Jack won't end up in Hell, no matter what sort of life he lives. The Devil grudgingly agrees... but years later, when Jack dies, he discovers he's not welcome in Heaven either. With no place for his spirit to go, he wanders the world in limbo; the Devil gives him an eternally-burning ember, which Jack puts inside a hollowed-out turnip to use as a lantern... or, as it came to be known, "Jack's lantern".

When the tradition of turnip-lanterns made its way to America, the larger and easier-to-carve pumpkin was eventually substituted.

As in the original version of this piece, I wanted it to look like an old illustration on parchment, except I got closer with this one.