Who the Heck is Spring Heeled Jack?

Picture a 19th century London night, where one of the most intriguing stories can be found originating from Victorian England. The tales involve a creature that crept out of the shadows, attacking his victims with a series of scratches. The reason why it was never caught was because the beast was said to possess superhuman abilities. The creature was dubbed “Spring-Heeled Jack.”

The story of Spring-Heeled Jack has no concrete beginning, as well as no clear ending. The mystery of it existence has never been solved and no one can fully explain who or what the creature is. Most of the reports regarding Jack, state that his attacks began in 1837, in the southwest area of London. During the month of September, a woman by the name of Polly Adams, was attacked. Her shirt was torn off and her stomach was scratched with what she described as being iron-like fingernails or claws. She was left unconscious and bloody, but she did survive. Two others were also attacked at this time.

The women described this fiend as resembling a man, but with a frightening face. He had sharp, iron-like claws or fingernails, as well as eyes that glowed through the night. His build was tall, thin and powerful with the ability to spew forth blue flames from his mouth. Some victims swore that he wore a helmet of some sort along with a “white oilskin suit” with a dark-colored cloak. The subhuman qualities that he possessed included the ability to jump far distances and unimaginable heights. Some described him as a devilish figure, displaying large, pointed ears and nose.

A vigilante group spread out throughout the area in early 1838, in hopes of capturing the creature, but their efforts turning up nothing. Other sightings were recorded from 1850 to 1880. Reports of Jack’s presence were documented in Sheffield, Liverpool, as well as the Midlands. The last recorded incident involving Jack was reported in 1904, where it is said that he vanished without a trace.

The tales of his appearance described him as being a frightening sight to see, possessing the ability to leap impressive distances. With all of the reports and sightings, Jack never actually killed a person and the only individual to sustain serious injuries was a teenage girl, who was temporarily blinded by what she described as blue flames that Jack spat in her face.

The last documented account of Jack’s existence was in September of 1904, in an area found in north Liverpool. Jack was said to have been sighted on the rooftop of the St. Francis Xavier’s Church, located on Salisbury Street. Witnesses claim that he jumped from the roof, falling to the ground, landing on a nearby house. It is said that when the crowd came upon the creature to see what he was about, he lay on the ground, dressed in white, with a helmet on his head that was shaped like an egg. The crowd claimed that he was laughing uncontrollably, rushing into the crowd making the women step back. Then, with no effort, he leaped over the crowd and disappeared behind the rows of nearby houses.