The Tale of Spring-Heeled Jack

Let me tell you a story. A real life story.

At first it was just a rumour. Few took much interest when people crossing a common in southwest London first reported seeing an alarming figure that flew through the air in great leaps across their path. But reports persisted, and were then confirmed a year later, in February 1838. And so began the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack...

Spring-Heeled Jack Wikipedia Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack

Spring-Heeled Jack Article on Zeus Popular: http://zeus.mirtna.org/spring-heeled-jack.html

Spring-Heeled Jack, the Legend: http://anomalyinfo.com/articles/ga00002.shtml

Category:

Education

Tags:

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• hundreds
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• England
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• paranormal

[bluenail90]

I read that the sentries were issued with blanks and it was an officer (knowing this) who was scaring them for fun. Also people took a lot of drugs in those days. Opium, belladonna etc. And newspapers always like a nice story so exaggerate. Still do?

[Neurolanis]

@bluenail90 Interesting theory. Public paranoia and drug-induced imagination? Possible. Thing is though, where you have hundreds of witnesses saying they all saw him jumping of rooftops...hard to say unless you were to study each of the reports I guess.

[TheEpicWolf64]

SHJ seems to be one of biggest mysteries ever but my theory about things like him and ghosts is that if they are so scary or have any intention of scaring and aren't afraid of people then why do they appear so rarely and with Jack he could easily continue his maddness because people now are still as easily scared and still use guns(which don't affect him) against everything so he would just need to learn to jump higher. Maybe he it died though or maybe there was nothing and people just freaked!

[Neurolanis]

Good point about the fear thing, it does seem that he was afraid of the public and was acting off the high of his own fear. Very possible.

[Swinestein]

Interesting video with some great images. The whole story reminds me of the Loch Ness monster to a certain extent due to the time elapsed between the first and recent sightings. If the 'original' Jack was active from the 1830s to 1904 then this would put him at about 90 years old in his twilight years! In these days it wouldn't be possible to live to 90 never mind spring from building to building! Surely there must have been copycats... but how many people have the talent exhibited by Jack?

[Neurolanis]

Not sure anyone can jump from rooftop to street, then back to rooftop. You could be right, a series of what we today call 'stunt men' might have pulled it off, and possibly the witness accounts were exaggerated. Accounts of him jumping over bridges, slicing people with sharp and steely fingers, or disappearing are a bit harder to explain.

[raulprima]

You sayd you found even spookier things about spring heeled jack, i want to know them please

[HighgateSamphire]

Spring-heeled jack was last seen in 1986 in England, bounding along hedgerows and stopping only so he could slap a travelling salesman. Maybe a lot of people have seen him and not reported him for fear of ridicule?? If he'd slapped a double-glazing salesman would we worship him as a god or make him a knight of the realm?? I think he'd make a very good 'Big Brother' contestant, actually.

[superfawful65]

@JaySuper122 Jack the Ripper was a murder, Spring-Heeled Jack just liked to fuck with people for the lulz. Plus, Jack the Ripper didn't show up until 1888, Spring-Heeled Jack was around long before that.

[JaySuper122]

Ever stop to compare his appearance and behavior to that of a man who once lived?? Like Jack the Ripper? Mayhap that he was Jack the Ripper in Life. Spring Heeled Jack in Death.

[JaySuper122]

Personally, I believe that old springheel Jack only had a limited time that he was allowed to spread fear. I find it quite interesting the story of the one girl in particular who laughed at the stories of him, and he appeared to her and savaged her a bit. Coincidence? Not likely. On top of that, creatures like him operate under rules that we don't know of.

[XXLSSBBW]

Spring Heeled Jack could of been an Alien. On his home planet the gravity would be ten times greater then here on earth. Astronauts found it easy to walk around the moon by simply jumping.

[TheCynicalEye]

@zadeh79

I think that this would definitely make an interesting movie. I'd pay to see it.

[johnowls]

Spring heeled jack is quite famous in my city (Sheffield) whiteness's including police officers claim to have seen him leaping from rooftop to rooftop

google: spring heeled jack sheffield history sheffield memories

[daftvader75]

@ethan12355 thanks for the info.

[HOMEnHIGH]

they still gettin away with it today...

the war in Libya is the real story...the royal wedding is the diversion..lets see which one takes up more media space...

[HOMEnHIGH]

how the media usually works is that you have to look at what major event was taking place at the time that spring heeled jack turned up...cuz he was probably just a distraction story...where there any major changes in government or some kinda war going on..or some budget cut backs or tax rises..itl'll be something that effected the poor people and without a diversion story of some kind the lower class would probably riot....