Legends

Creating and displaying Jack-O-Lanterns during the Halloween season is a tradition that has been passed down for centuries in nations all over the world. Children are especially participatory in this holiday ritual; In the United States, most families make a day-long outing of searching for the perfect pumpkin before helping their children carve out their nightmarish imaginings into the vegetable. In many small towns, a Jack O’Lantern, or the depiction of one, is used to signify houses which are participating in another popular Halloween tradition: Handing out candy. Before European immigrants who settled in America discovered the pumpkin, native to their new country, was perfect for this tradition various other vegetables were carved to hold candles; In England, beets were hollowed out and carved with macabre expressions. In Ireland, where the tradition of the Jack O’Lantern originated, large turnips and potatoes were first used. While this tradition is reserved mostly for the young and young at heart, the origins are much more sinister than one could imagine. Irish legends tell the tale of a man known as “Stingy Jack”, for whom Jack O’Lanterns are named. Jack was well-known in his village for being a manipulative, deceitful drunk; In fact, he was such an abhorred human that tales of him told by the townspeople were impressive enough to summon the Devil, who was unconvinced of the man’s evilness. While drunkenly wandering the town one evening, Jack came upon a dead body lying on the cobblestone path. As he approached, Jack noticed the face was distorted in a demonic grimace and discovered this “dead body” to be the Devil himself. Convinced Satan had finally come to collect his rotten soul, Stingy Jack requested the Devil join him in a final drink before dragging him into Hell. The Devil obliged, but after finishing off a round, Stingy Jack did not have money to pay, as his nickname would suggest. Jack asked that the Devi transform himself into a silver coin which he would use to pay the tab. The Devil was so impressed by Jack’s display of manipulative cleverness that he once again granted his request, and transformed into a coin. But Jack did not pay as he had promised; He instead slipped the coin which the Devil had transformed into inside a pocket, containing a crucifix. The cross in Jack’s pocket prohibited the Devil from turning back into his true form. Jack agreed to let Satan go only if he agreed to leave Jack alone for a year and to never claim his soul. Eventually, Satan agreed and was set free. One year later, the Devil paid a second visit to Stingy Jack who was once again, roaming the streets of his village in a drunken stupor. Stingy Jack believed the Devil had finally returned to collect his soul, despite their deal made one year earlier. He begged for an apple hanging high in a nearby tree before being taken into Hell, again manipulating the Devil to granting his request. Satan climbed the tree to retrieve the apple; Meanwhile, Stingy Jack was busy carving a large crucifix into the base of the tree so that he would be unable to come back down. Jack negotiated another ten years in which he would not be visited by the Devil and after he agreed to the conditions, allowed Satan to come out of the tree. Of course, Stingy Jack did eventually die. When Jack arrived at the Gates of Heaven he was turned away for his deceitful and manipulative nature in life. He met with the Devil one last time to ask to be allowed into Hell. This time, the Devil did not give into his wishes as he was still butt-hurt over being tricked by this man before. In a final gesture of good will, Satan gave Jack a burning coal straight from the fires of Hell to light his way and sent him off to eternally wander through the night, stuck between this word and the next. The Irish began referring to the soul of Stingy Jack, sometimes seen carrying a carved-out turnip containing the coal given to him by the Devil as “Jack of the Lantern”, eventually shortening it to, “Jack O’Lantern”. The Irish began creating lanterns for themselves with sinister faces, similar to the one Jack must have seen on the Devil when they first met. The lanterns would come to be displayed on All Hallows Eve to ward off Jack of the Lantern and other evil spirits wandering the earth. Make sure to carve your Jack O’Lantern every Halloween, if you don’t, you may be visited by spirits so evil, not even the Devil will claim them.

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In downtown Chihuahua, Mexico a mannequin, which has been on display in the window at the “La Popular” bridal shop for over 75 years, is rumored to be an impeccably embalmed corpse. It is said that the original owner of the store, Pascuala Esparza, was a talented designer and seamstress. She created gorgeous gowns in her bridal boutique so of course, when her daughter, Pascualita, was to be married, Pascuala Esparza made her the dress of her dreams. Sadly, on the day of Pascualita’s wedding, she was bitten by a black widow spider and died before she could marry her intended. Pascuala was devastated by her daughter’s sudden death and, after having the body embalmed, decided to dress Pascualita in her wedding gown. She displayed her body in the window of “La Popular” on March 25, 1930 and it has remained there ever since.

This caused quite a bit of uproar from residents of Chihuahua who weren’t too thrilled knowing they would be walking past the corpse of a young woman on a regular basis. Eventually, most citizens became used to Pascualita staring at them through the window as they strolled around downtown. Som revel in the presence of this local oddity and view her as a sort of landmark which brings in a flock of tourists from Europe, South America and the United States each year. This story however, may be entirely, or at least partially legend. Many older residents of the area swear the body is truly that of the deceased Pascualita Esparza but just as many claim that shortly after the town went into an uproar over her display in the window, Pascuala made a statement that the body was not her deceased daughter. Obviously, the most logical theory is that Pascualita is a very life-like mannequin that was incredibly impressive for the time period; Perhaps Pascuala started an itty bitty rumor in an attempt to draw in customers to the store. One thing which keeps people questioning the authenticity of Pascualita is the small, lifelike and possibly decomposition related-imperfections such as the deep folds of her palm.

La Popular employee Sonia Burciaga is the lucky lady who has been bestowed with the task of changing the dress on the questionable corpse twice a week. Sonia confessed, “Everytime I go near Pascualita my hands break out in a sweat. Her hands are very realistic and she even has varicose veins on her legs. I believe she’s a real person.”

You may still be wondering how a body that has been dead and on display for over 75 rears has not begun to decompose. While the exact method of preservation in the hypothetical case of Pascualita remains a mystery, avoiding decomposition for an expanded period of time is not impossible. Incorruptible corpses, bodies that do not decay, were considered by the Catholic Church to be a miracle up until quite recently when it was discovered that the prevention of decomposition was caused by conditions within the tomb in which the body was laid to rest. These “Incorruptible” bodies did not appear to decompose for several decades and when they did, it was usually due to relocation of the corpse. The reason the bodies which have been moved and put on display still have not decomposed is due in part to regular “treatments” the bodies undergo to maintain the natural preservation. It is possible that somehow, with the aid of her environment, Pascualita’s body was able to avoid decomposition through a mixture of artificial and natural embalming. Her waxy skin tone is almost identical to the flesh of Incorruptible corpses. Some of the more wild claims about the body of Pascualita are that her eyes follow you around the store, she changes positions at night and there are even stories that a French magician visits the store at night, brings Pascualita to life and takes her out on the town. Whether you believe Pascualita is an incredibly life-like mannequin or a real dead body, I think we can all agree on one thing: Pascualita is not dating a mysterious French magician.