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For other uses, see Spring Heeled Jack (disambiguation).
Spring Heeled Jack
Illustration circa 1890
Creature
Name: Spring Heeled Jack
Classification
Grouping: Hoax/Mass hysteria/
Demon/Alien
Data
First reported: 1837
Last sighted: 1986
Country: UK
Region: London/Liverpool
Habitat: Urban

Spring Heeled Jack (also Springheel Jack, Spring-heel Jack, etc), is a character from English folklore said to have existed during the Victorian era and able to jump extraordinarily high. A hoax is a deliberate attempt to Dupe, Deceive or trick an audience into believing or accepting that something is real when in fact it is not or that Mass hysteria, also called collective hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, or collective obsessional behavior, is the sociopsychological See also List of extraterrestrials in fiction In Popular cultures Life forms -especially intelligent life forms that are of extraterrestrial The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of centuries Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities The first claimed sighting of Spring Heeled Jack that is known occurred in 1837. [1] Later alleged sightings were reported all over England, from London up to Sheffield and Liverpool, but they were especially prevalent in suburban London and later in the Midlands and Scotland. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England Liverpool ( is a City and Metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary This article is mainly about the English Midlands For other uses see Midlands (disambiguation. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. [2]

Many theories have been proposed to ascertain the nature and identity of Spring Heeled Jack. Identity is an Umbrella term used throughout the Social sciences to describe an individual's comprehension of him or herself as a discrete separate entity The urban legend of Spring Heeled Jack gained immense popularity in its time due to the tales of his bizarre appearance and ability to make extraordinary leaps, to the point where he became the topic of several works of fiction. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them

Spring Heeled Jack was described by people claiming to have seen him as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy that included clawed hands and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire". Physiognomy ( Gk physis, nature and gnomon, judge interpreter is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance especially One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a tight-fitting white garment like an "oilskin". Oilskin referred originally to a type of fabric - Canvas with literally a skin of Oil applied to it as waterproofing often Linseed oil. Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Spring Heeled Jack was said to be tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman, and capable of making great leaps. The term gentleman (from Latin gentilis, belonging to a race or "gens" and "man" Cognate with the French word gentilhomme Several reports mention that he could breathe 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 in comprehensible English.

Contents

History

Early reports

Picture from a Penny Dreadful of Spring Heeled Jack jumping over a gate.
Picture from a Penny Dreadful of Spring Heeled Jack jumping over a gate. Penny Dreadful (also called penny number) was a term applied to nineteenth century British Fiction publications usually lurid serial stories appearing in parts

The first accounts 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. [3][4]

The first reports of Jack was from a businessman returning home late one night from work, who told of being suddenly shocked as a mysterious figure jumped with ease over the high railings of a cemetery, landing right in his path. No attack was reported, but the submitted description was disturbing: a muscular man with devilish features including large and pointed ears and nose, and protruding, glowing eyes.

Later, in October 1837, a girl by the name of Mary Stevens was walking to Lavender Hill, where she was working as a servant, after visiting her parents in Battersea. Lavender Hill is a hill near Clapham Junction in South London, England. Battersea is a place in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is an inner-city district located 2 On her way through Clapham Common, according to her later statements, a strange figure leapt at her from a dark alley. Clapham Common is a triangular area of grassland of about 220 acres (0 After immobilising her with a tight grip of his arms, he began to kiss her face, while ripping her clothes and touching her flesh with his claws, which were, according to her deposition, "cold and clammy as those of a corpse". In panic, the girl screamed, making the attacker quickly flee from the scene. The commotion brought several residents who immediately launched a search for the aggressor, who could not be found.

The next day, the leaping character is said to have chosen a very different victim near Mary Stevens' home, inaugurating a method that would reappear in later reports: he jumped in the way of a passing carriage, causing the coachman to lose control, crash, and severely injure himself. A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people usually horse-drawn A coachman was a man whose business it was to drive a coach, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for Several witnesses claimed that he escaped by jumping over a nine foot-high (2. 7 m) wall while babbling with a high-pitched and ringing laughter.

Gradually, the news of the strange character spread, and soon the press and the public gave him a name: Spring-heeled Jack. "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" [5]

Official recognition

A public session at the Mansion House, London (c. 1840).
A public session at the Mansion House, London (c. 1840).

A few months after these first sightings, on January 9, 1838, the Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Cowan, revealed at a public session held in the Mansion House an anonymous complaint that he had received several days earlier, which he had withheld in the hope of obtaining further information. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of (and head of the City of London Corporation. Mansion House is the Official residence of the Lord Mayor of the City of London in London, England. The correspondent, who signed the letter "a resident of Peckham", wrote:

It appears that some individuals (of, as the writer believes, the highest ranks of life) have laid a wager with a mischievous and foolhardy companion, that he durst not take upon himself the task of visiting many of the villages near London in three different disguises — a ghost, a bear, and a devil; and moreover, that he will not enter a gentleman's gardens for the purpose of alarming the inmates of the house. This article is about the South London town For the villages in Kent see East Peckham and West Peckham. The wager has, however, been accepted, and the unmanly villain has succeeded in depriving seven ladies of their senses, two of whom are not likely to recover, but to become burdens to their families.

At one house the man rang the bell, and on the servant coming to open door, this worse than brute stood in no less dreadful figure than a spectre clad most perfectly. The consequence was that the poor girl immediately swooned, and has never from that moment been in her senses.

The affair has now been going on for some time, and, strange to say, the papers are still silent on the subject. The writer has reason to believe that they have the whole history at their finger-ends but, through interested motives, are induced to remain silent. [6]

Though the Lord Mayor seemed fairly sceptical, a member of the audience confirmed, "servant girls about Kensington, Hammersmith and Ealing, tell dreadful stories of this ghost or devil". Kensington is a district of West London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, located west of Charing Cross. Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, approximately 5 miles (8km west of Charing Cross on Ealing is a Town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is a Suburban development situated 7 A ghost is said to be the apparition of a Deceased person frequently similar in appearance to that person and usually encountered in places she or he frequented The matter was reported in The Times on 9 January, and other national papers on 10 January, and the day after that (January 11) the Lord Mayor showed a crowded gathering a pile of letters from various places in and around London complaining of similar "wicked pranks". The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Events 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople. Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Events 1055 - Theodora is crowned Empress of the Byzantine Empire. The quantity of letters that poured into the Mansion House suggests that the stories were widespread in suburban London. One writer said several young women in Hammersmith had been frightened into "dangerous fits", and some "severely wounded by a sort of claws the miscreant wore on his hands". Another correspondent claimed that in Stockwell, Brixton, Camberwell and Vauxhall several people had died of fright, and others had had fits; meanwhile, another reported that the trickster had been repeatedly seen in Lewisham and Blackheath. Stockwell is an Inner city area of London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth. Brixton is an area of the London Borough of Lambeth, in inner - South London. Camberwell is a district of London, England and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. Vauxhall is an inner city area of South London in the London Borough of Lambeth. Lewisham is a district in south-east London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Lewisham. Blackheath is an area in southeast London centred around a section of open public grassland ('the Heath' and straddling the boundary of the London Borough of Lewisham and the

The Lord Mayor himself was in two minds about the affair: he thought "the greatest exaggerations" had been made, and that it was quite impossible "that the ghost performs the feats of a devil upon earth", but on the other hand someone he trusted had told him of a servant girl at Forest Hill who had been scared into fits by a figure in a bear's skin; he was confident the person or persons involved in this "pantomime display" would be caught and punished. Forest Hill is a suburb and electoral ward in the London Borough of Lewisham, situated between Dulwich and Sydenham in southeast London [7] The police were instructed to search for the individual responsible, and rewards were offered.

The Scales and Alsop reports

Spring Heeled Jack as depicted on an early Penny Dreadful.
Spring Heeled Jack as depicted on an early Penny Dreadful.

Perhaps the best known alleged incidents involving Spring Heeled Jack were the alleged attacks on two teenage girls, Lucy Scales and Jane Alsop. The Alsop report was widely covered by the newspapers, while a single paper covered the Scales report, presumably because Alsop came from a comfortably well-off family and Scales from a family of tradesmen. This coverage by newspapers fuelled the collective hysteria surrounding the case. Mass hysteria, also called collective hysteria, mass psychogenic illness, or collective obsessional behavior, is the sociopsychological

It was reported that, on February 20, 18-year-old Jane Alsop opened the door of her father's house in the district of Bow to a man claiming to be a police officer, who asked her to bring a light because he and other policemen had "caught Spring Heeled Jack here in the lane", but this man then attacked her, tearing at her dress and hair until other members of her family ran to help her. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Bow is an area of East London England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. [3] She told the Lambeth police investigators that "he was wearing a kind of helmet, and a tight fitting white costume like an oilskin. Lambeth is a place in the London Borough of Lambeth, although the area is now more commonly known as Waterloo, after the railway station whose viaduct separates the His face was hideous; his eyes were like balls of fire. His hands had claws of some metallic substance, and he vomited blue and white flames. "[3] The Scales report is as follows: Eight days later February 28, 1838,[8] 18-year-old Lucy Scales and her sister were returning home after visiting their brother, a butcher who lived in a respectable part of Limehouse. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is on the northern bank of the River Thames opposite Rotherhithe and between Ratcliff Slightly ahead of her sister, Lucy was halfway along Green Dragon Alley when a character who had been waiting at an angle in the passage appeared and attacked her. The figure breathed fire into Lucy's face and then walked away as the girl fell to the ground, seized by violent spasms which lasted for several hours. A few days later, on March 6, Lucy and her sister made their deposition at Lambeth Street police court in the company of their brother, William. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of [9]

The legend spreads

The Times reported the alleged attack on Jane Alsop under the heading "Outrage at Old Ford". This was followed with the account of the trial of one Thomas Millbank, who, immediately after the reported attack on Jane Alsop, had boasted in the Morgan's Arms that he was Spring Heeled Jack. He was arrested and tried at Lambeth Street court. The arresting officer was James Lea, who had earlier arrested William Corder, the Red Barn Murderer. The Red Barn Murder was a notorious murder committed in Polstead, Suffolk, England, in 1827 Millbank had been wearing white overalls and a greatcoat, which he dropped outside the house, and the candle he dropped was also found. Distinguish from Overhaul. An overall is a type of Garment which is usually used as Protective clothing when working A greatcoat, also known as a watchcoat is a large overcoat typically made of wool designed for warmth and protection against the elements He escaped conviction only because Jane Alsop insisted her attacker had breathed fire, and Millbank admitted he could do no such thing. Most of the other accounts were written long after the date; contemporary newspapers do not mention them.

Ad for a Spring Heeled Jack Penny Dreadful (1886)
Ad for a Spring Heeled Jack Penny Dreadful (1886)

After these incidents, Spring Heeled Jack became one of the most popular characters of the period. His alleged exploits were reported in the newspapers and became the subject of several Penny Dreadfuls and plays performed in the cheap theatres that abounded at the time. Penny Dreadful (also called penny number) was a term applied to nineteenth century British Fiction publications usually lurid serial stories appearing in parts But, as his fame was growing, reports of his appearances became less frequent if more widespread. In 1843, however, a wave of sightings swept the country again. A report from Northamptonshire described him as "the very image of the Devil himself, with horns and eyes of flame", and in East Anglia reports of attacks on drivers of mail coaches became common. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants East Anglia is often used as a shorthand for the Kingdom of the East Angles. In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a Horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries from 1784 He was linked with the so-called "Devil's Footprints" that appeared in Devon in February 1855. The Devil's Footprints was the name given to a peculiar phenomenon that occurred in Devon, England on 8 February, 1855. Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name

The last reports

In the beginning of the 1870s, Spring Heeled Jack was reported again in several places distant from each other. In November 1872, the News of the World reported that Peckham was "in a state of commotion owing to what is known as the "Peckham Ghost", a mysterious figure, quite alarming in appearance". The News of the World is a British Tabloid Newspaper published every Sunday The editorial pointed out that it was none other than "Spring Heeled Jack, who terrified a past generation". [10] Similar stories were published in the Illustrated Police News. In April and May of 1873, there were numerous sightings of the "Park Ghost" in Sheffield, which locals came to identify as Spring Heeled Jack.

Aldershot Barracks – North Camp, Central Road as it looked in 1866.
Aldershot Barracks – North Camp, Central Road as it looked in 1866.

This news was followed by more reported sightings, until in August 1877; one of the most notable reports about Spring Heeled Jack came from a group of soldiers in Aldershot's barracks. Aldershot is a town in the English County of Hampshire, located on heathland about 60 km (37 miles southwest of London. This story went as follows: a sentry on duty at the North Camp peered into the darkness, his attention attracted by a peculiar figure bounding across the road towards him, making a metallic noise. The soldier issued a challenge, which went unheeded, and the figure vanished from sight for a few moments. As the soldier turned back to his post, the figure reappeared beside him and delivered several slaps to his face with "a hand as cold as that of a corpse". Attracted by the ensuing noise, several men rushed to the place, but they claimed that the character leapt several feet over their heads and landed behind them. One of the guards shot at him, with no visible effect other than to enrage his target; some sources claim that the soldier may have fired blanks at him, merely used to make warning shots. A blank is a type of cartridge for a Firearm that contains Gunpowder but no Bullet or shot. The strange figure then disappeared into the surrounding darkness. [11]

In the autumn of the same year, Spring Heeled Jack was reportedly seen at Newport Arch, in Lincolnshire, wearing a sheep skin. Newport Arch is the name given to the remains of a 3rd century Roman gate in the city of Lincoln Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. An angry mob supposedly chased him and cornered him, and just as in Aldershot a while before, residents fired at him to no effect. As usual, he was said to have made use of his leaping abilities to lose the crowd and disappear once again. [12]

By the end of the 19th century, the reported sightings of Spring Heeled Jack were moving towards western England. In September 1904, in Everton, in north Liverpool, Spring Heeled Jack allegedly appeared on the rooftop of Saint Francis Xavier's Church, in Salisbury Street. This article refers to the district of Liverpool For the football club see Everton F Church of Saint Francis Xavier, Salisbury Street Everton Liverpool, England, is a Roman Catholic church Witnesses reported that he suddenly jumped and fell to the ground, landing behind a nearby house. When they rushed to the point, so the story goes, they faced there a tall and muscular man, fully dressed in white and wearing an "egg shaped" helmet, standing there waiting. He laughed hysterically at the crowd and rushed towards them, making several women gasp in dismay. Clearing them all with a gigantic leap, he disappeared behind the neighbouring houses. [13]

On June 18, 1953, a figure in part resembling some descriptions of Spring Heeled Jack was sighted in a pecan tree in the yard of an apartment building in Houston, Texas. Events 618 - Coronation of the Chinese governor Li Yuan as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the new Emperor of China, initiating three centuries Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Pecan ( Carya illinoinensis, commonly misspelled illinoensis) is a species of Hickory, native to south-central North America Mrs. Hilda Walker, Judy Meyers, and Howard Phillips described a man in a "black cape, skin-tight pants, and quarter-length boots", and "grey or black tight-fitting clothes".

In South Herefordshire, not far from the Welsh border, a travelling salesman named Marshall claimed at some unspecified time until as late as 1997 to have had an encounter with a Spring Heeled Jack–like entity in 1986. South Herefordshire was an English local government district, based at Ross-on-Wye, from 1974 to 1988 The man leaped in enormous, inhuman bounds, passed Marshall on the road, and slapped his cheek. He wore what the salesman described as a black ski-suit, and Marshall noted that he had an elongated chin. [14]

Theories

No one was ever caught and identified as Spring Heeled Jack; combined with the extraordinary abilities attributed to him and the very long period during which he was reportedly at large, this has led to all sorts of theories of his nature and identity. While several researchers seek a rational explanation for the events, other authors explore the more fantastic details of the story to propose different kinds of paranormal speculation. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation

Sceptical positions

Sceptical investigators have dismissed the stories of Spring Heeled Jack as mass hysteria which developed around various stories of a bogeyman or devil which have been around for centuries, or from exaggerated urban myths about a man who clambered over rooftops claiming that the Devil was chasing him. The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogieman, boogey monster, or boogeyman, is a Folkloric or legendary Ghostlike [15]

Henry de La Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford (1840)
Henry de La Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford (1840)

Other researchers believe that some individual(s) may have been behind its origins, being followed by imitators later on. [16] Spring Heeled Jack was widely considered not to be a supernatural creature but rather one or more persons with a macabre sense of humor. [3] This idea matches the contents of the letter to the Lord Mayor, which accused a group of young aristocrats as the culprits, after an irresponsible wager. [3] A popular rumour circulating as early as 1840 pointed to an Irish nobleman, the Marquess of Waterford, as the main suspect. The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those peers created by British monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. Henry de La Poer Beresford 3rd Marquess of Waterford KP ( 26 April 1811 &ndash 29 March 1859) styled Lord Henry Beresford [3] Haining suggested this may have been due him having previously had bad experiences with women and police officers. [17]

The Marquess was frequently in the news in the late 1830s for drunken brawling, brutal jokes and vandalism, and was said to do anything for a bet; his irregular behaviour and his contempt for women earned him the moniker "the Mad Marquis", and it is also known that he was in the London area by the time the first incidents took place. But The Waterford Chronicle was able to report his presence at the St Valentine's Day Ball at Waterford Castle, giving him an alibi for the reported attacks on Jane Allsop and Lucy Scales that are central to Jack's alleged existence. Nevertheless, in 1880 he was named as the perpetrator by the Rev. E.  C. Brewer, who attested that the Marquess "used to amuse himself by springing on travellers unawares, to frighten them, and from time to time others have followed his silly example". [18] In 1842, the Marquess of Waterford married and settled in Curraghmore House, Ireland, and reportedly led an exemplary life until he died in a riding accident in 1859. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Spring Heeled Jack remained active for decades after, which leads the aforementioned modern researchers to the same conclusion as Brewer's.

Sceptical investigators have asserted that the story of Spring Heeled Jack was exaggerated and altered through mass hysteria, a process in which many sociological issues may have contributed. These include unsupported rumours, superstition, oral tradition, sensationalist publications, and a folklore rich in tales of fairies and strange roguish creatures. Oral tradition, oral culture and oral lore is a way for a society to transmit history, literature, law and other Knowledges Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely Controversial, loud or attention grabbing A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair Gossip of alleged leaping and fire-spitting powers, his alleged extraordinary features and his reputed skill in evading apprehension captured the mind of the superstitious public — increasingly so with the passing of time, which gave the impression that Spring Heeled Jack had suffered no effects from ageing. As a result, a whole urban legend was built around the character, being reflected by contemporary publications, which in turn fuelled this popular perception. [19]

Paranormal conjectures

A variety of 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. Extraterrestrial life is Life originating outside of the Earth. g. , retro-reflective red eyes, or phosphorus breath) and a superhuman agility deriving from life on a high gravity world, jumping ability and strange behaviour[20] 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. A retroreflector (sometimes called a retroflector) is a device or surface that reflects light back to its source with a minimum scattering of light Phosphorus, (ˈfɒsfərəs is the Chemical element that has the symbol P and Atomic number 15 A superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus (clandestine hidden secret referring to "knowledge of the hidden" [21]

In popular culture

Spring Heeled Jack on a Penny Dreadful cover page (c. 1904)
Spring Heeled Jack on a Penny Dreadful cover page (c. 1904)

The vast urban legend built around Spring Heeled Jack influenced many aspects of Victorian life, especially in contemporary popular culture. Popular culture (or pop culture) is the Culture — patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance — For decades, especially in London, his name was equated with bogeymen, as a means of scaring children into behaving by telling them that if they were not good, Spring Heeled Jack would leap up and peer in at them through their bedroom windows, by night. The bogeyman, boogyman, bogyman, boogieman, boogey monster, or boogeyman, is a Folkloric or legendary Ghostlike

However, it was in fictional entertainment where the legend of Spring Heeled Jack exerted the most extensive influence, owing to his allegedly extraordinary nature. Almost from the moment the first incidents gained public knowledge, he turned into a successful fictional character, becoming the protagonist of many Penny Dreadfuls from 1840 to 1904. Several plays where he assumed the main role were staged as well.

The most notable fictional Spring Heeled Jacks of the 19th and early 20th centuries were:

The later fictional portrayals of the character as a wronged nobleman who adopted the guise of Spring Heeled Jack in order to reclaim his stolen fortune and to right injustices, anticipated several distinguishing features of the 20th Century superhero genre. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do

Notes

  1. ^ Sharon McGovern ("The Legend of Spring Heeled Jack") claims that a letter to the editor of the Sheffield Times in 1808 talks of a ghost by that name years previously; McGovern neither specifies the day in 1808 so that the letter can be verified nor lists any secondary source (for this or anything else). In addition, the Sheffield Times did not launch until April 1846.
  2. ^ For an account of an incident from Edinburgh that was misinterpreted as a sighting of Spring-heeled Jack, see The Weekly Scotsman, 16 January 1897. Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate.
  3. ^ a b c d e f David Cordingly, "Lives and Times: Spring-Heeled Jack", The Scotsman 7 October 2006. The Scotsman is a Scottish national Newspaper, published in Edinburgh. Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Excerpted from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885
  4. ^ Rupert Mann, "Spring Heeled Jack", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004; ISBN 019861411X).
  5. ^ Clark, Unexplained! mentions that the press referred variously to "Spring-heeled Jack" or "Springheel Jack". Haining, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack, asserts that the term "springald" was rather the origin of the name Spring Heeled Jack, to which it evolved later; alas, there is no proof to support this claim, according to Clark. Dash, op. cit. , reveals that there is no contemporary evidence that this term was used in the 1830s, and establishes that the first original name was "Steel Jack", a possible reference to his supposed armoured appearance.
  6. ^ As quoted by Jacqueline Simpson, Spring-Heeled Jack (2001).
  7. ^ Peter Haining, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack, based on reports from The Times of 10th and 12 January 1838. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople
  8. ^ Peter Haining, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack based on reports from The Times of 22 February 1838. The Times is a daily national Newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common
  9. ^ Cohen, The Encyclopedia of Monsters.
  10. ^ News of the World, 17 November 1872, cited in "Fortean Studies volume 3" (1996), pp. 78-79, ed. Steve Moore, John Brown Publishing
  11. ^ The Times, 28 April 1877, cited in "Fortean Studies volume 3" (1996), pp. 95, ed. Steve Moore, John Brown Publishing
  12. ^ Illustrated Police News, 3 November 1877, cited in "Fortean Studies volume 3" (1996), pp. 96, ed. Steve Moore, John Brown Publishing
  13. ^ News of the World, 25 September 1904, cited in "Fortean Studies volume 3" (1996), pp. 97, ed. Steve Moore, John Brown Publishing
  14. ^ "Spring Heeled Jack" (Haunted Scotland).
  15. ^ Randles, Strange and Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century
  16. ^ Dash, "Spring Heeled Jack", in Fortean Studies, ed. Steve Moore.
  17. ^ Haining, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.
  18. ^ Jacqueline Simpson, Spring-Heeled Jack.
  19. ^ Massimo Polidoro, "Notes on a Strange World: Return of Spring-Heeled Jack", Skeptical Enquirer, July. Accessed on March 24, 2005. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
  20. ^ Charles Berlitz's World of Strange Phenomena. Charles Frambach Berlitz ( November 20, 1914 &ndash December 18, 2003) was a linguist and language teacher known for his books on
  21. ^ Supporters of this theory include John Keel author of the The Mothman Prophecies) and Jacques Vallée. John Alva Keel (born Alva John Kiehle March 25, 1930) is a Fortean author and professional Journalist currently residing in New The Mothman Prophecies is a 1975 book by parapsychologist John Keel, described as nonfiction Jacques F Vallée, PhD ( September 24, 1939) is a French -born Venture capitalist Computer scientist, ufologist and former
  22. ^ Jess Nevins, The Encyclopaedia of Fantastic Victoriana (2005), and Jacqueline Simpson, ibid.
  23. ^ Internet Movie Database entry for "The Curse of the Wraydons". Accessed on March 23, 2005. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Further reading

See also

External links

Dictionary

Spring Heeled Jack

-proper noun

  1. A mythical character from England, recognized during the 19th century.
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