{"product_id":"forever-stamps-2016-jack-o-lanterns-halloween-holiday-first-class-postage","title":"Jack-O'-Lanterns 2016 Forever Stamps — Halloween Issue","description":"\u003ch2\u003eIssue facts\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIssued: September 29, 2016\u003cbr\u003eFirst Day City: Anoka, MN\u003cbr\u003eType of Stamp: First Class Mail\u003cbr\u003ePrinted by: Banknote Corporation of America\u003cbr\u003eMethod: Offset, Microprint\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy anyone started carving them\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFear of the will-o'-the-wisp. English folklore gave that name to \u003cem\u003eignis fatuus\u003c\/em\u003e — \"foolish fire\" — a ghostly light reported most often by people crossing swamps and marshes at night. Some described a figure carrying a lantern; others saw only a floating ball of light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lights were said to retreat when approached and to follow anyone who turned away, and the warning attached to them was blunt: do not follow one, because it leads travelers to their deaths.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFrom turnips to pumpkins\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo drive these spirits off, people carved faces into turnips and set candles inside, making them as frightening as they could — which had the side effect of producing something that looked a great deal like a will-o'-the-wisp itself. The practice mattered most at Halloween, when the boundary between this world and the spirit world was believed to be at its thinnest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVersions of the legend exist in many countries. Scientists have proposed explanations for the lights without settling the question, so the will-o'-the-wisp remains genuinely unexplained — which is arguably the best thing a Halloween story can be.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Forever Stamp Center","offers":[{"title":"100 Stamps (5 Books)","offer_id":47100622471367,"sku":"ST16-A8-5","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300 Stamps (15 Books)","offer_id":47100622504135,"sku":"ST16-A8-15","price":54.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500 Stamps (25 Books)","offer_id":47100622536903,"sku":"ST16-A8-25","price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1000 Stamps (50 Books)","offer_id":47100622569671,"sku":"ST16-A8-50","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"5000 Stamps (250 Books)","offer_id":47100622602439,"sku":"ST16-A8-250","price":699.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/6250\/4647\/files\/61STyV4KczL._AC_SX679_e629b978-3cfb-48ce-b828-14c86943edbd.jpg?v=1788604260","url":"https:\/\/www.foreverstampcenter.com\/products\/forever-stamps-2016-jack-o-lanterns-halloween-holiday-first-class-postage","provider":"center","version":"1.0","type":"link"}