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 the United Kingdom 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. In the early 19th century, there were reports of ghosts that stalked the streets of London. These human-like figures were described as pale; it was believed that they stalked and preyed on lone pedestrians. The stories told of these figures formed part of a distinct ghost tradition in London which, some writers have argued, formed the foundation of the later legend of Spring-heeled Jack. The first alleged sightings of Spring-heeled Jack were made in London in 1837 and the last reported sighting is said in most of the secondary literature to have been made in Liverpool in 1904. The vast urban legend built around Spring-heeled Jack influenced many aspects of Victorian life, especially in contemporary popular culture. For decades, especially in London, his name was equated with the bogeyman, as a means of scaring children into behaving by telling them if they were not good, Spring-heeled Jack would leap up and peer in at them through their bedroom windows, by night. A variety of wildly speculative paranormal explanations have been proposed to explain the origin of Spring-heeled Jack, including that he was an extraterrestrial entity with a non-human appearance and features (e.g., retro-reflective red eyes, or phosphorus breath) and a superhuman agility deriving from life on a high-gravity world, with his jumping ability and strange behavior, and that he was a demon, accidentally or purposefully summoned into this world by practitioners of the occult, or who made himself manifest simply to create spiritual turmoil.
Appearance List Serial novels, penny dreadfuls, story papers: “The Spring Jack” by Peter Piper in Franklin’s Miscellany 53 (27 January 1838), Spring-Heeled Jack, the Terror of London in The Boy’s Standard (1840), Spring-Heel’d Jack: or, The Felon’s Wrongs (1863), Spring-Heel’d Jack: The Terror of London by Alfred Coates (1868), “Spring-Heel’d Jack: The Terror of London” by George Sala in The Boys’ Standard (1st Series, 1878; N.S. 219–224, 1885), “Spring-Heel Jack; or, The Masked Mystery of the Tower” by Thomas Monstery in Beadle’s New York Dime Library #332 (4 March 1885), Spring-Heeled Jack, The Terror of London by Charlton Lea/Alfred Burrage (48-part serial, 1886-1889), “The Mystery of Spring-heeled Jack or, The Haunted Grange” by Clarke S. Hook in The Marvel #189 (June 1897), “Dandy Dick, or The King’s Highway” by Ned Neolan and Ben Brightly in The Marvel #337–378 (18 April 1900–7 February 1901), “The Human Bat” in The Funny Wonder (20 May 1899 – 20 July 1901), Spring-Heeled Jack, The Terror of London by Charlton Lea/Alfred Burrage (12-part serial, 1904), “The Winged Man” in The Wonder (11 January 1913 – 19 July 1913). Books and Articles: The Reader’s Handbook of Allusions, References, Plots and Stories by E. Cobham Brewer (1895), “Have You a Theory?” by Valentine Dyall in Everybody’s Magazine (20 February 1954), “The Mystery of Springheel Jack” by J. Vyner in Flying Saucer Review 7, no. 3 (May–Jun 1961), The Victorian Underworld by Kellow Chesney (1972), “Spring-Heeled Jack: To Victorian Bugaboo from Suburban Ghost” by Mike Dash in Fortean Studies Vol. 3 (1996) [Academia.edu], The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring-Heeled Jack by Peter Haining (1977), “Unmasking Spring-heeled Jack: A Case Study of a 19th Century Ghost Panic” by David Clarke (2006), Spring-heeled Jack: A Victorian Visitation at Aldershot by Roman Golicz (2006), The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (2010), Dark Days by Derek Landy (2010), The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures by Karl Bell (2012), Springheeled Jack by David Hitchcock (2014), “The Haunted Landscape” by Jacob Middleton in Fortean Times #310 (January 2014), The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: From Victorian Legend to Steampunk Hero by John Rochester Matthews (2016), The Spring-Heel’d Saga by Gareth Parker and Robert Valentine (9 episodes, Dir: Robert Valentine, The Wireless Theatre Company, 2011–2016). Children’s Books: Spring-Heeled Jack by Philip Pullman (1989), Playing With Fire (2008), The Maleficent Seven (2013). Film: The Curse of the Wraydons (1946). Play: Spring-Heeled Jack (1950). Comics: Springheeled Jack by David Hitchcock (2005). Podcast: Astonishing Legends: Episode 015 Spring Heeled Jack [YT (Audio)].
Sample Read Spring-Heeled Jack: The Terror of London [PGAU]
Description 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 the United Kingdom 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. In the early 19th century, there were reports of ghosts that stalked the streets of London. These human-like figures were described as pale; it was believed that they stalked and preyed on lone pedestrians. The stories told of these figures formed part of a distinct ghost tradition in London which, some writers have argued, formed the foundation of the later legend of Spring-heeled Jack. The first alleged sightings of Spring-heeled Jack were made in London in 1837 and the last reported sighting is said in most of the secondary literature to have been made in Liverpool in 1904. The vast urban legend built around Spring-heeled Jack influenced many aspects of Victorian life, especially in contemporary popular culture. For decades, especially in London, his name was equated with the bogeyman, as a means of scaring children into behaving by telling them if they were not good, Spring-heeled Jack would leap up and peer in at them through their bedroom windows, by night. A variety of wildly speculative paranormal explanations have been proposed to explain the origin of Spring-heeled Jack, including that he was an extraterrestrial entity with a non-human appearance and features (e.g., retro-reflective red eyes, or phosphorus breath) and a superhuman agility deriving from life on a high-gravity world, with his jumping ability and strange behavior, and that he was a demon, accidentally or purposefully summoned into this world by practitioners of the occult, or who made himself manifest simply to create spiritual turmoil.
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