The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze

Do you know what is The Great Jack O’Lantern?

There is an old Irish legend about a man named Stingy Jack who was too mean to get into heaven and had played too many tricks on the devil to go to hell. When he died, he had to walk the earth, carrying a lantern made out of a turnip with a burning coal inside. Stingy Jack became known as "Jack of the Lantern," or "Jack-o'-Lantern."

From this legend came the Irish tradition of placing jack-o'-lanterns made of turnips and other vegetables in windows or by doors on Halloween. The jack-o'-lanterns are meant to scare away Stingy Jack and all the other spirits that are said to walk the earth on that night. It wasn't until the tradition was brought to the United States by immigrants that pumpkins were used for jack-o'-lanterns.

Now every October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season.

By the way in the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.

The tri-state area’s biggest, most exciting, most electrifying Halloween event returns for a whopping 22 nights in 2012 at Van Cortlandt Manor in Hudson Valley!

See more than 5,000 individually hand-carved, illuminated jack o’ lanterns in this elaborate walk-through experience. Meander through an historic, 18th-century riverside landscape and discover a breathtaking display – all made of jack o’ lanterns! Stroll through the Tunnel O’ Pumpkin Love and emerge to the incredible sight of gourd-filled Jack-in-the-Box springing up and bouncing around. Flying pumpkin ghosts will soar above the lantern-lit path...

This event requires advance tickets and has limited capacity

The tickets are going on sale for General Public September 4, 2012

You can order tickets online https://www.hudsonvalley.org/store or by phone 914-366-6900.

The prices are:

Adults, $16, Children 3-17, $12 (Saturdays $20, $16) on line and
Adults, $18, Children 3-17, $14 (Saturdays $22, $18) on the phone (includes $2/ticket surcharge)
FREE for children under 3

Remember: all tickets are for specific day and time and are final sale.

For direction please go to http://www.hudsonvalley.org/historic-sites/van-cortlandt-manor/directions.