Spring-heeled Jack

The Legend of Spring-heeled Jack

Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures

Spring-heeled Jack originated in September 1837, although his activities preceded his intriguing moniker by four months. As was often going to be the case, his name was only retrospectively applied by the press. At the time Barnes was still a village on the south-western fringe of London, and it was in this predominantly rural environment that rumours began to circulate of a ghost 'in the shape of a large white bull' which had 'attacked several persons, more particularly women, many of whom had suffered most severely from the fright'. In January 1838 the London press began piecing together accounts of the peripatetic nature of the scare and the metamorphic entity at the heart of it, retrospectively tracking rumours of its progress through the autumn and winter of 1837 and into early 1838. Moving from Barnes to East Sheen, the white bull transformed into a white bear. Drawing closer to the capital, the 'ghost' changed from animal form to an 'unearthly visitant' at Richmond, and when he moved on to the 'quiet and retired villages of Ham and Petersham' he adopted 'the image of an imp of the "Evil One"'. After this he appeared in Kingston as an 'alleged supernatural visitant'. When he migrated north of the Thames, to Hampton Wick and Hampton Court, his appearance changed again, now being described as 'an unearthly warrior clad in armour of polished brass, with spring shoes and large claw gloves'. This anthropomorphic shift was retained around the metropolis, the claws becoming a marked feature of the 1838 attacks, the spring shoes perhaps the most enduring feature of the entire legend.

HowStuffWorks

The attacker was tall and thin, had pointed ears and fiery eyes, and wore a cloak. He tore at his female victims' clothes and ripped their flesh with hands that felt like iron. When he escaped, he did not run; he bounced away. Those who saw his feet swore he had springs in his boot heels.

At first, the authorities had a hard time believing what victims were telling them. But by January 1838 so many Londoners had seen the figure that the Lord Mayor formed a vigilance committee to capture "Spring Heeled Jack."

In one especially notorious incident, he tried to snatch 18-year-old Jane Alsop right out of her own house. According to the London Times (February 22, 1838), he "presented a most hideous and frightful appearance, and vomited forth a quantity of blue and white flame from his mouth, and his eyes resembled red balls of fire. . . . [H]e wore a large helmet, and his dress, which appeared to fit him very tight, seemed to her to resemble white oil skin." The young woman was saved by family members.

Wikipedia

Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over Great Britain and were especially prevalent in suburban London, the Midlands and Scotland.

There are many theories about the nature and identity of Spring-heeled Jack. This urban legend was very popular in its time, due to the tales of his bizarre appearance and ability to make extraordinary leaps, to the point that he became the topic of several works of fiction.

Spring-heeled Jack was described by people who claimed to have seen him as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy, clawed hands, and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire". One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a tight-fitting white garment like an oilskin. Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Others said he was tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman. Several reports mention that he could breathe out blue and white flames and that he wore sharp metallic claws at his fingertips. At least two people claimed that he was able to speak comprehensible English.