We remember the dead, the hallows, martyrs, and all of our beloved departed. Happy All Hallow’s Eve.

Art by Crescent City Skull Club (New Orleans)

‘On route home after a night’s drinking, Jack encounters the Devil who tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.’

~ Encyclopedia of Death and Dying (Glennys Howarth, Oliver Leaman)