A Man? An Alien? Fiction? We May Never Know
On September, 1837, in London, England, a businessman was walking home. As he went past a cemetery, a creature jumped over the railings and landed in the path of the man. The railings were at least 10 feet high, but this creature effortlessly leaped over them. The shocked man looked at the creature, which he saw as having pointed ears, large glowing eyes, and a large pointed nose. This was the first sighting of the soon-to-be legendary Spring-Heeled Jack.
Spring-Heeled Jack is a mysterious figure. He has been described as having pointed ears, red glowing eyes, a pointed nose, tall, thin, powerful, wearing a black cloak, large helmet, and a tight-fitting oilskin costume, with the capability to jump over 20 feet in the air and breathe an odd white and blue flame, and with large, cold claws. None of the reports of him are conflicting; they all contain all or some of this description. For 83 years (possibly more), he terrorized England. Curiously, he only ever killed one person, and this may even have been unintentional.
Shortly after the encounter with the businessman, Spring-Heeled Jack was sighted again. He attacked a group of people-3 women and 1 man-all of whom ran but Polly Adams. Jack tore off her blouse and clawed her stomach. His attacks left her unconscious, where the police found her.
In October 1837, Mary Stevens was walking through Cutthroat Lane in Clapham Common. Suddenly, Spring-Heeled Jack jumped in her path, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. Jack then proceeded to put his arm down her blouse, at which point she screamed. He leaped away that instant, and the police were unable to find him.
A little afterwards, Jack jumped in the path of a carriage, scaring the horses and causing it to crash. He escaped by jumping over a 9 foot wall. Very soon after that, he accosted a woman in front of Clapham Church. This incident stands out in that he left physical evidence. Two footprints were found, both 3 inches deep. The depth suggests that he used a sort of spring apparatus. During the war, the Germans invented a springing apparatus similar to the kind that some think Spring-Heeled Jack had, but 85% of the time the men broke their ankles.
A few months later, in January, 1838, Lord Mayor John Cowan of London declared Spring-Heeled Jack a public menace. A group was formed to catch him, including the aged war hero, the Duke of Wellington, at the time 70 years old. Some claim that the Duke had many encounters with Jack, but he was never caught or found, and even intensified his attacks the following months.
On February 20, 1838, Lucy and Margaret Scales were walking home around 8:30 P.M. Jack jumped in front of them and spat blue fire in Lucy's face. It's reported that she was blinded, though whether it was permanent, temporary, or metaphorical is unknown. Witnesses claim he escaped by jumping onto the roof of a building.
Two days later, Jane Alsop heard a knocking on her door. When she opened it, a man in a black cloak told her that he was a policeman and to bring her a light, for they had caught Spring-Heeled Jack in an alley. While she was handing him the lit candle, Jane saw his face and realized it was Spring-Heeled Jack. She attempted to run back into her house, but he grabbed her hair. Her sister managed to free her from Jack's grasp and get her back inside the house. He continued to knock on the door for a while, and then hastily left. It was said that he had dropped his cloak in a field. A man came by and picked up the cloak, leading the police to believe Jack had an accomplice. Shortly afterward, Jack knocked on a house on Turner Street near Commercial Road. The servant boy answered, and Jack asked for his master. While turning to call his master, the boy noticed that it was Spring-Heeled Jack. Jack waved his fist at the boy and leaped onto the houses' rooftops, escaping. The boy claimed there was a gold W on his shirt, indicating someone of royalty.
The boy's description of Jack led the police to suspect the eccentric Henry, the Marquis of Waterford, known for having a twisted and sometimes cruel sense of humor. They theorized that he jumped using springs hidden in his shoes. The theory was dropped when the Marquis died in 1859 but the attacks continued.
Jack's attacks continued into 1839, but then stopped for a while. They began again in 1843. In 1845, the only incident where someone died occurred. In New York, Jack bounded through the streets in broad daylight, grabbing a prostitute by her shoulders, breathing an odd gas (fire?) in her face, and throwing her in a sewer, where she tragically drowned. It is not known whether or not Jack intentionally killed her.
Things quieted down again for many years, until Jack was sighted in Caistor, Newfolk (back in England) jumping on rooftops. In August, 1877, Jack appeared in front of a group of soldiers. Private John Regan was standing sentry when he heard something metallic being dragged down the road. Investigating, he found nothing out of the ordinary, he returned to his post. When he did, Jack spat blue flames into the boy's face. Other sentries ran to his aid, but Jack escaped by jumping over 10 feet over them. The sentries fired at him, but the bullets supposedly glanced off him.
A month later, in Lincolnshire, Jack was seen jumping across the rooftops. The residents fired shotguns at him, but they claimed he was not affected, and it sounded like their bullets hit something metallic. In January, 1879, Jack disrupted another carriage. While a man was riding his carriage down a street, Jack jumped onto the back of his horse, startling it.
In September, 1904, Jack was spotted hanging off the steeple of St. Francis Xavier's south of Liverpool. He supposedly let go, falling to the ground. The residents, thinking he had committed suicide, ran to where Jack had fallen. Instead, they found him standing there waiting. After scuttling towards the crowd and raising his arms, Jack leaped away.
The final recorded sighting of Jack occurred in 1920, when he was seen jumping on the streets and rooftops of Central Railway Station in London.
To this day, the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack remains a mystery. Though the final recorded event was in 1920, there were several unrecorded sightings of a man surprisingly similar to Spring-Heeled Jack as late as the 1960's. Theories range from an exaggerated felon, to an alien, to the devil himself. Considering that recorded events span 83 years, is it even possible he is a man? It is incredibly odd that none of the reports are conflicting. For it to be a hoax, it would require a mass coordinated effort between much of England and even residents of New York City. We will probably never really know who or what Spring-Heeled Jack was, but maybe someday soon someone will meet the mysterious creature walking down a road again.