Wicked John and the Devil: A Halloween Tale

Last October readers of my blog were treated to the story of "Jack of the Lantern," an Irish folktale about an unlikeable man who tricks the devil into granting him amnesty from hell only to learn, upon death, that heaven doesn't want him either - seeing how he made a deal with the devil and all. Jack was thus doomed to walk the earth for all eternity carrying with him a lantern made from a turnip lit with a coal plucked from the fires of hell. Jack's turnip lantern was the first jack-o'-lantern which were originally made from turnips by the Irish until coming to America where they discovered the pumpkin, which was much easier to carve. I also told readers last year that the tale of "Jack of the Lantern" is one with many variations, including this one which I have not related before.

"Wicked John and the Devil" as told by Justin M...

A long time ago there was a wicked man named John who worked as a village blacksmith. John took great pride in his wickedness and practiced it with vigor, and it was because of this that no one in the village ever came to visit him, unless they needed a horseshoe made or a tool fixed and even then they never stuck around.

Now because on one ever came to visit and because John enjoyed being wicked so much John took to inviting strangers, who passed by his shop on the way into town, in for a free meal. Every time someone would accept, John would sit them down to a nice hot meal and as soon they were done eating would proceed to play all sorts of nasty tricks of them.

One day John saw an old man walking past his shop. John called out to the old man and asked if he would like a free hot meal. The man said yes but that he was to crippled to make it up the path to John's shop, so John went down the path and carried the old man up. John then took the man inside and gave him some hot soup, but the man said that his fingers were to cripple to lift the spoon, so John had to feed him. Just as John was starting to think that he was going to far to much trouble just to play a few mean-spirited pranks on this old man John's kitchen lit up with bright white light and where the old man had been hunched over a different old man with a long white beard, a rings of keys hung around his waist, and a back as strait as a stick now sat.

"Who the hell are you?," asked John. "I'm St. Peter; heaven's gatekeeper," replied the old man, still glowing. St. Peter then explain to John that because of his kindness to him he would grant him three wishes, thus giving John a chance to turn his life around. But all John could think about was how much more wickedness he could with those three wishes.

First John asked St. Peter for a rocking chair that would rock and rock with the sitter trapped in it and that the only way they could get out is if John had mercy on them. The second wish was for a sledgehammer that wouldn't let go of the user's hands and would keep hammering until John had mercy them too. The third and final wish was for a prickly firebush that would sit out in front of his shop and that would pull anyone who touched it in and not let them go until John had mercy and freed them. St. Peter granted everyone of John's three wishes even though he knew that all three would only be used to create more wickedness. After granting John's wishes St. Peter departed and returned to heaven.

It wasn't long before John's seemingly endless ability to cause wickedness caught up with him and the Devil, not wishing to be outdone by a mere mortal, sent his youngest son to go fetch John and bring his soul to hell. The Devil's youngest son then made his way to John's workshop where John was hard at work on a horseshoe. "You're coming with me," said the little demon to John. "Oh? Alright," said John, "Just let me finish this here horseshoe and I'll come straight to hell with ya, and while you wait why don't you have a seat in my rocking chair over there." "Don't mind if I do." said the little demon and no sooner did he sit down in the chair then did he find himself stuck fast. Then the chair began to rock back and forth, faster and faster rattling the little demon. "Let me go!" he cried out to John. "Only if you promise never to come for my soul again." said John. "Alright" said the little demon and John had mercy and let him go.

The next day the Devil sent his eldest son to go fetch John's soul. He also found John in his workshop hard at work. "You're coming with me," said the eldest demon to John. "Oh? Alright," said John, "Just hand me that sledgehammer over there so I can finish this horseshoe, unless it's too big for ya." And the demon, not wanting John to think he was a weakling, grabbed the sledgehammer only to discover that he could not let go. Then the hammer began to hammer up and down knocking all of the demon about. "Let me go!" he cried out to John. "Only if you promise never to come for my soul again." said John. "Alright" said the eldest demon and John had mercy and let the him go too.

The next day the Devil himself came to fetch John's soul. Again John was found in his workshop hard at work. "You're coming with me," said the Devil to John. "Oh? Alright," said John, "Just let me finish this here horseshoe and I'll come straight to hell with ya, and while you wait why don't you have a seat in my rocking chair over there." "No thank you," said the Devil, "I don't feel like sitting, now lets go." "Oh? Alright," said John, "Just hand me that sledgehammer over there so I can finish this horseshoe, unless it's too big for ya." "No," said the Devil, "I'm not handing you any hammers because you're not finishing any horseshoes, you're coming with me to hell right now."

"Oh? Alright," said John and put down his tongs and headed outside with the Devil. However, as soon as they were outside John gave the Devil a push and knocked him right into the prickly firebush which pulled the Devil in and would not let go. The Devil struggled for what seemed like hours to try and free himself from the bush but the more he struggled the more confined he became. Finally the Devil cried out to John "Let me go!" to which John replied "Only if you promise I'll never have to serve one single day in hell." "Alright" said the Devil and John had mercy and let the him go as well.

Finally the day came, many years later, when John died and found himself standing before the pearly gates with St. Peter looking down at him. "What are you doing here John?" asked St. Peter. John explained that he had died and was here to take his place in heaven. St. Peter took and long, hard look at John and then explained that they couldn't let him in. John had lived a life filled with too much wickedness to be allowed into heaven - plus he had made a deal with the Devil to boot. John tried to argue with St. Peter but to no avail.

So John turned around and headed for hell to see if the Devil would let him in, but when he got there the Devil informed him that their agreement still stood and that John could not enter hell - ever. John asked the Devil what he should do having been denied both salvation in heaven and damnation in hell. The Devil only laughed and then gave John a red hot piece of coal and told him to go make his own hell on earth. John then returned to earth where he found a gourd which he hollowed out and placed the coal inside so he could use it as a lantern to light his path as he wandered the earth for all eternity. And the light from that lantern? Well some say it can still be seen on Halloween night to this very day.

The story of "Wicked John and the Devil" is a variation of the story of "Jack of the Lantern." It is a tale told in both American and on the British Ilse. It is hard to say which tale, "Wicked John" or "Jack," is older. Some evidence which would suggest that "Wicked John" is the older of the two tales include the fact that semantically speaking the name John predates the name Jack, but that doesn't necessarily mean that John's story came first, especially when you can find versions of either story with either man's attached, i.e. "Wick Jack and the Devil."

Another point of interest, which may also help lean credence to John's story being the older version of the two, is the fact that John's profession is that of a blacksmith. The role of blacksmith was once a time honored profession in the days predating the industrial revolution. In the ancient world blacksmiths were revered for their seemingly magical abilities to manipulate both fire and metal. This is why many cultures had gods who specifically looked over the profession of smith. Some of these gods included; Hephaestus (Greco-Roman), Ilmarinen (Finish), Ogun (West Africa), and the Wayland Smith of Scandinavia - just to name a few.

During the medieval period when Christianity dominated the European landscape blacksmiths came to be regarded as having a connection with the Devil, again because of their ability to manipulate both fire and metal. However, this association was not negative and did not make blacksmith a target of medieval persecution but rather resulted in numerous folktales and legends of heroic blacksmiths who defeated devils in various bouts - similar to Wicked John's.

One of these legendary blacksmiths was St. Dunstan, today the patron saint of goldsmiths, who is said to have been visited by the Devil while at work in his blacksmith's shop. The Devil came to Dunstan in the form of a beautiful woman and tried to seduce him, but Dunstan saw through the disguise and with a pair of red hot tongs grabbed the devil by the nose and refused to let go until he promised never to bother him again. Thus one can see that the basic framework for John's tale had already been laid.

You Don’t Know Jack!

…Well actually, you probably do seeing how Jack is arguably the most well know character in all of western folklore. The character of Jack (he has no definite last name) has appeared in nursery rhymes, folk and fairytales, legends, plays and literature going back as far as 1414. Geographically speaking, folklorists and mythographers find the greatest concentration of Jack tales to be in England and then the American Appalachian mountains where they were imported by immigrants from the British Isles.

The Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore (1995) characterizes Jack as a "hero [who] is generally unpromising at the start of the tale, young, poor or foolish, but through a combination of luck and craftiness… triumphs against the odds.” The “odds” in question here typically take the form of supernatural threats such as witches or demons, though Jack’s most common and persistent adversaries are giants and it is these tales which will be the focus of this entry.

One reason for this narrow look at the world of “Jack Tales” is simply focus and space constraints. Attempting to discuss every “Jack Tale” ever told is simply out of the question – there are just far too many of them. Another thing that will not be discussed here are several Jack related characters that are, for our purposes, far too complex to be summarized here and now. These characters include: Jack of the Lantern, Jack Frost, Jack in the Green, and Spring Heeled Jack. All of whom will be discussed at a later date, I promise…

The most famous "Jack" Tale is undoubtedly that of “Jack and the Beanstalk.” To sum up the story – which hopefully everyone reading this blog already knows – Jack is a poor farm boy who lives with his mother in the countryside. One day Jack’s mother tells her son to go into town and sell the farm’s only cow for money. Jack does as he is told and takes the cow to town; however when Jack returns later that same day he has not money but five magic beans which he obtained from a mysterious man in exchange for the cow. Jack's mother is furious with him and in a fit of rage throws the beans out the window and sends her son to bed.

That night a massive beanstalk sprouts from the ground and grows all the way up into the sky. Jack, upon awakening, discovers the beanstalk and decides to climb it. At the top of the beanstalk Jack discovers a castle which is home to a man-eating giant and his wife. Jack befriends the giantess who helps to hide him from her flesh-eating husband. Later Jack discovers that the giant is also the owner of several bags of gold as well as a magical hen who lays golden eggs and a golden harp. Jack decides to “steal” these three treasures and make his way back down the beanstalk. However, the harp calls out for help from the giant who discovers Jack and pursues him. Jack being smaller and faster manages to outmaneuver the giant. Reaching the bottom first Jack takes an ax and chop the beanstalk down causing the giant to fall to his death.

According to folklorists Peter and Iona Opie, the oldest known written version of this tale is an English reprint of a text called Round About our Coal-Fire: or Christmas Entertainments (1730) which features a tale entitled "Enchantment demonstrated in the Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean." This version of the tale is intended to be light hearted and comedic, severing simply as entertainment.

It would be seventy-years later before the more serious, more familiar version of the tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” would be written down, this time by London author Benjamin Tabart under the impressive title of The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk, Printed from the Original Manuscript, Never Before Published (1807). Tabart’s version of the tale was lost for many years after its original publication until anthropologist Andrew Lang recovered it and republished it in his Red Fairy Book in 1890. That same year folklorist Joseph Jacobs published a different version of the story in his book English Fairy Tales.

It is important to note that while the Tabart/Lang and Jacobs’ versions of the tale are similar, if not identical, in many ways they do differ in one major area – justification. In Jacobs’ version of the tale Jack is simply a cunning trickster with no direct justification for his thieving actions other than the fact that he and his mother are poor and the giant is apparently less than human which makes the theft of his goods and later murder alright. In contrast to this is Tabart's version which justifies Jack’s actions by explaining that the castle and its good once belonged to Jack’s father who was murdered by the giant.

Of course the most striking aspect of the tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” is undoubtedly the beanstalk itself. The idea of ascending to the heavens via some sort of tower (either man-made or natural) is as old as mankind. Mythographers refer to these devices as axis mundi and they are found across cultures. One terrific example, which may have even served as the basis for Jack’s beanstalk, is that of the Norse-Germanic ash tree Yggdrasil which spanned the cosmos and connected the three realms of Ásgard (Heaven), Midgard (Earth), and Niflheim (Hell). Maria Tatar, Harvard’s Chair of Mythology and Folklore, notes that the idea of massive tree-like beanstalk “has a certain whimsical inventiveness, for beanstalks are notoriously unstable and usually require staking to remain propped up.”

Having looked at Jack’s beanstalks exploits we now move on to Jack’s adventures as a professional giant killer. These stories, which may date back as far as 1557, are often known as “Jack the Giant Killer” tales. There are literally hundreds of variations of said tales though the most famous narrative involves Jack’s struggle against five giants and links Jack with none other than King Arthur himself.

According to the story Jack is young man from Cornwall who manages to thwart a cattle raiding giant named Cormoran by catching him in a pit trap and then killing him. For this feat Jack becomes famous and receives a belt engraved with the words: “This is the valiant Cornish man, who killed the giant Cormoran.” The second giant Jack encounters is named Blunderbore and like the one living at the top of the beanstalk has a taste for human flesh. Blunderbore manages to catch Jack while sleeping and abducts the hero taking him back to his lair to devour. Once at the giant’s lair Jack awakens and quickly assesses his situation. Fortunately the giant has stepped out in order to fetch his brother who he wishes to have dinner with. Jack manages to find some strong cord from which he makes a set of nooses which he then loops over the rafters. When Blunderbore and his brother return Jack throws the nooses around the giant’s necks. The two giants immediately begin to pull at the nooses in an attempt to break free and instead only end up strangling each other instead.

Jack’s third encounter is with a two-headed Welsh giant who invites Jack to spend the night at his castle but then tries to kill him in the middle of the night with a club. Jack survives the night thanks to some trickery and in the morning uses some more in order to get back at the brute by challenging him to a pudding eating contest. In order to compete with the giant Jack stuffs a leather sack under his shirt and then sits down to the meal. While the giant is really stuffing his stomach, Jack is merely filling the leather sack with pudding. Soon it appears that Jack has eaten just as much as the giant, much to the monster's humiliation. Wanting to know how Jack is able to consume so much pudding the giant asks him at which point Jack tells him that he has magic powers which he demonstrates by stabbing himself in his fake stomach with a knife and then suffering no ill effects. The giant not wishing to be outdone (and being quite stupid) also stabs himself in the stomach and promptly drops dead.

The fourth giant Jack encounters has three heads and thus is able to see in all directions. In order to defeat it Jack dons a coat of invisibility, which he received in the castle of the third giant, and attacks the three-headed giant unseen. Jack’s final encounter is with the savage giant Galligantus who is allied with the evil sorcerer Hocus-Pocus. Again Jack uses his cloak of invisibility to sneak inside the giant and magician’s castle where he discovers a magic trumpet with the inscription “Whoever can this trumpet blow, will cause the giant’s overthrow.” Jack picks up the trumpet and blows it causing the castle to fall down. Jack then cuts off Galligantus’ feet causing him to fall to the ground allowing Jack to reach his head which he then cuts off and sends to King Arthur who rewards Jack with his daughter’s hand in marriage.

Over the years the tales of Jacks exploits have delighted readers and listeners both young and old. There are numerous children’s books which retale the tales of Jack as well as some outstanding anthologies of the original folktales for older readers. In 1962, United Artists made Jack the Giant Killer into a feature film. The story revolves around Jack (Kerwin Mathews) in his quest to rescue young Princess Elaine (Judi Meredith) from the evil sorcerer Pendragon (Torin Thatcher). Along the way Jack not only fights giants but also sword wielding skeletons and a frightening band of witches. At the film’s climax Pendragon transforms himself into a dragon and Jack battles him as well. Joining Jack on his quest is an old Viking named Sigurd (Barry Kelley) – perhaps the same Sigurd of Germanic mythology? – and a wise-cracking leprechaun imprisoned in a bottle named Diaboltin (Don Beddoe) who steals every sceen he’s in. The film stays true to the spirit of a fairy-tale and contains many throwaway references to other classic pieces of fairy-tale lore such as seven-league-boots which aren’t talk about enough in my opinion. Unfortunately the giants, dragon and other monsters (including a giant googly-eyed dinosaur-octopus thing) are all brought to life via some very sub-par stop motion animation. The work of Ray Harryhausen this is not. Never the less the film is still highly entertaining and sources tell me can currently be purchased at most Big Lots stores for three dollars!

Images: All art by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), Jack the Giant Killer movie poster by United Artists.

Sources: The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar (2002), Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore by Alison Jones (1996), Southern Jack Tales by Donald Davis (1993), The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1966) & SurLaLune's Annotated Fairy Tales.com.