We're halfway through the month, gearing up for All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween, when ghouls, ghosts, witches and warlocks and the spirits of the departed are said to walk among us on 31st October. Many's the pumpkin soon to be carved into a scary face lit by candles, the traditional decoration for windowsills and doorsteps on Halloween night. Shops are already stocking up on these colourful bright orange members of the squash family,  in anticipation of the mad rush to come in the next couple of weeks. Pumpkin lanterns are said to hail from the legend of a young mischievious thief called Jack, and there are many theories and myths surrounding him. Many versions of this story are told all over Europe. In Irish folklore,  the long and the short of it is that naughty Jack tried to trap the devil, and would only let him go when he promised not to take Jack's soul as punishment. The Devil agreed. Jack eventually died, but as he was not pure enough to go to heaven, and the Devil wouldn't let him into hell, his lost soul was destined to wander in limbo, looking for a final resting place. On his journey, Jack's spirit carried a lantern carved from a turnip, lit from the inside with a candle. He became known as Jack o' Lantern and gave his name to the familiar lantern carved for Halloween. In old Ireland, swedes and turnips would have been used for lanterns. Nowadays, these have generally been replaced with pumpkins, whose carved amber flesh and skins give an eerie glow in the dark when lit inside with a tea light. Most houses will make a pumpkin lantern this Halloween. If you want to know what to do with the flesh, once you've carved it out, follow this link for a delectable and spicy Pumpkin Soup recipe, which will warm the cockles after trick or treating this year. Mmm…delicious…