Halloween on Steroids: The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in Historic Hudson Valley

As far back as we can remember, there has been a special place in our hearts reserved for Halloween. It’s so much more than a trivial holiday, and so much more than a fixed point on the calendar each year marking the change in seasons. Though we'll confess: we've always loved the contradiction of the last gasps of a moribund summer lending to the the burgeoning intensity of a nascent fall.

For us, Halloween is a time of childlike wonder, creativity and imagination. It’s also a time for quick road trips and late evenings. There are apple orchards and pumpkin patches to visit. There are costume parties to attend. There are horror movies that we’ve added to our queue throughout the year, in anticipation of the perfectly curated scary movie marathon. And, of course, there is an overabundance of candy. Really, what's not to like?

The origin of the Jack O’Lantern

Jack O’Lanterns have been a Halloween staple for so long that few question its origins. We owe them to our Irish American community, who brought the tradition over with them. Jack O’Lanterns are named after Stingy Jack, a figure in Irish lore. According to legend, he was such a despicable and dishonest drunk that the devil came to collect his soul. He managed to trick the devil, and negotiated a stay. The devil returned after the agreed upon term had passed, but Stingy Jack managed to trick him yet again. This time he bargained to be kept out of hell for good.

When Jack finally died, he was refused entry to heaven because of his villainous ways. But when he went to the gates of hell, the devil turned him away because of their previous arrangement. He was doomed to roam the netherworld for all eternity, with nothing but a piece of burning coal to light his way. Jack placed the coal in a carved out turnip and became known as “Jack of the Lantern”, and thus Jack O’Lantern.

What is the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze?

Billed as “the tri-state area’s biggest, most electrifying Halloween event”, the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze is the kind of event Halloween fans live for.  The annual event started back in 2005 and has continued to grow every year.

The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze boasts attendance in the tens of thousands and regularly sells out. A cynic might write the whole thing off as one giant tourist trap. And sure, without a doubt, the event has commercial aims, with foodstuff and merchandise slickly packaged and prominently displayed. But that doesn't mean it reneges on its promise: you will see a hell of a lot of pumpkins, all elaborately staged and in a whimsical setting.

With more than seven thousand carved and illuminated pumpkins incorporated in such installations as the Jurassic Park, Pumpkin Zee Bridge, and of course, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze promises you'll get your money's worth. Each pumpkin you’ll see is hand-carved, and the extensive work involved for the event actually requires that they begin carving as early as June.

Where is the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze?

The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze it set up against the backdrop of the Van Cortlandt Manor, a National Historic Landmark. The property was built in the late 1600s by the Van Cortlandts, an influential political dynasty of Dutch origin. The manor was part of a 1000-acre tract of land, and became the family’s primary residence in 1749. By 1953, it was no longer owned by the Van Cortlandt family and had fallen into disrepair, so John D. Rockefeller Jr. purchased it and restored it so as to preserve its historical value.

The historical manor is decorated with lights and Jack O’Lanterns for the occasion, and the expansive grounds against the Hudson River are the perfect location for an crisp, evening walk as you make your way through the displays.

It's no surprise that The Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, would make our to-do list. And because the creative displays seem to get bigger and better each year, it should make yours too.