Was he a monster or was he a man? Was he an alien or a manifestation of the devil?Whatever he was, Spring-heeled Jack certainly existed! He terrorized England, on and off, from the 1830's up until 1920! Most sightings were in or around London, but he turned up in other parts, including Scotland. And once, in 1845, he was even sighted across the Atlantic, in New York!
So what did Spring-heeled Jack do that was so terrible? It was, perhaps, more perverse mischief than terror; although he did cause severe distress, and sometimes injury--especially to women, whom he targeted more than men. Eyewitness accounts and descriptions of Spring-heeled Jack were remarkably consistent. He was described as being tall and thin, but powerful. He was said to have a long nose, pointy ears and red, glowing eyes. He could emit a blue or white flame from his mouth.
He wore a black cloak, and he could jump twenty to thirty feet--vertically! He had clawed hands, which he would use to rip open women's clothing, exposing their breasts. Very few of his attacks were fatal--it is said that only one woman died, as a result of being attacked.
The first sighting, however, was by a businessman, returning home late at night in London, during September 1837. He saw a dark figure vault over some cemetery railings and land directly in front of him. The figure then promptly leaped straight back over the railings into the cemetery again. The railings were ten feet high.
On one occasion, Spring-heeled Jack disguised himself as a policeman, and tried to trick his way into a house. He almost succeeded, but when the tenant opened the door, he recognized Jack by his distinctive features. The man slammed the door shut before Jack could enter, and apparently the bogus policeman turned and sprang away.
After many more sightings and incidents, Jack appeared before a group of soldiers in Aldershot's North army camp, in 1877. When confronted, he jumped right over them! Several shots were fired but Spring-heeled Jack got clean away!
In 1904, south of Liverpool, Jack was seen by several people, as he merrily jumped from a church roof, down to the ground and then back up again!
The final sighting came in 1920 (83-years after the first!) at Central Railway Station in London. Again, Jack was jumping from the roof to the street and back up again. It was reported that cloven footprints were found, prompting the belief that it was indeed the devil!
Rational explanations have been attempted, but none have been convincing. Such explanations have supposed that Jack was wearing some hidden jumping device. Engineers and scientists have even devised such apparatus, but every attempt to practically test any such device has resulted in broken ankles!
