The Pumpkin Patch
Carving pumpkins: Witches were said to use a skull with a candle in it to light the way to their meetings. There is also the legend about "Irish Jack." Supposedly, the devil threw a burning coal at Jack, who caught it, and placed it in a turnip. Jack has been roaming the earth ever since with his "jack-o- lantern." Eventually, pumpkins replaced turnips, since it was easier to symbolize the devil's coal inside a pumpkin. Another technique to scare away the evil spirits was to carve a scary face into an object. The people hoped that the frightening face would cause the evil spirit to move on to someplace else. Do any of these pagan and occult practices sound familiar?