When the notorious and devilish Spring Heeled Jack first graced the pages of penny dreadfuls in Victorian England, readers were shocked to learn of the horrifying encounters people were subjected to by a mysterious and enigmatic man dubbed Spring Heeled Jack. But as the reports of the man's exploits spread throughout London, some wondered if one man could be responsible for so much terror. And now according to witnesses in Cassiobury Park where another string of events is unfolding, it appears Jack is back - and more paranormal than ever.
Jamie Burnell is a spiritualist who has had a connection with the long reported haunted park and feels the long stretches of vegetation and darkness hide more than just the crickets chirping in the distance. The terrifying secret of this park is, according to Jamie, none other than the legendary figure Spring Heeled Jack. And the trail that led him to this conclusion is as twisted and enigmatic as the nighttime paths of any dark as the witching hour draws near.
The terrifying prospect that Spring Heeled Jack's phantasmal figure may be seen by passers through the park is certainly enough to raise a few eyebrows, if not peoples' hair. Though photographs of the figure are little more than eerie misty apparitions at the moment, Burnell is confident they represent one of the most iconic and harrowing entities ever encountered. And if the idea of a smoky apparition crossing your path and suddenly leaping twenty feet into the air isn't terrifying enough, the park is said to be host to other ghosts as well.
Spring Heeled Jack, first reported in 1837, sprung his way into newspapers with Jack the ripper, whose first murder was in 1888 snapping at his heels. The two would become analogous to dark alleyways and the dangers of urban life. Indeed many of the terrified stories of Jack the Ripper became mixed up with Spring Heeled Jack as was seen in the film Das Wachsfigurenkabinett in 1924. Though he generally is associated with physically assaulting his victims with claw-like hands and then bounding away just ahead of the police and pursuers. Although the figure was prolific in his reign of terror, only the most high profile of cases would prove terrifying enough to survive the annals of time. And now as over one and a half centuries has passed since his first incarnation, it appears the ghost of Spring Heeled Jack is once again walking around, though in far lower profile than before. Perhaps death was enough to cool his springed heels, or perhaps he simply lacks the power necessary now to leap at his victims and breathe fire as legend once told.
But Jamie Burnell is determined to discover what precisely caused the Victorian villain to appear in this grave yard, appearing as a strange mist and eerie sounds captured both by human ears and EVP when his name is mentioned. And perhaps as more people descend on Cassiobury Park in search of the figure of legend, he will find strength in their attention to once again be seen, vindicating over a century's worth of conjecture.
