Spring Heeled Jack
Spring-heeled Jack was a Victorian era legend said to have the ability to leap huge distances, breathe fire and posessed talon like metal claws all of which he would use to menace his victims.
Jack was first sighted in London in 1837 and the last seen in Liverpool in 1904.
In October of 1837, a girl called Mary Stevens was walking to Lavender Hill, where she worked as a servant. As she walked through Clapham Common, an entity jumped on her from an alley way. After paralyzing her, he began to assault her – she described his hands as “cold and clammy as those of a corpse”.
As she let out a scream the creature vanished and several members of the public hearing the scream rushed to her aid, they attempted to locate the entity but without luck.
The next day he stalked a new victim close to the Stevens residence. He lept in front of a horse drawn carriage causing the driver to crash and injure himself severely. He is said to have then made his escape by leaping over a 9ft fence in a single bound while witnesses say they heard a high pitched cackle. Soon the London press had given the ghastly mysterious creature the moniker “Spring Heeleed Jack”
Like the more famous “Jack the Ripper” – Spring Heeled Jack was never apprehended, there are however some theories as to who or what he was. Some point towards a supernatural being given the length of time it remained active and agile. Others point to a more down to earth theory that an eccentric Henry de La Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford was the culprit given his reputation as a troublemaker during the same era. However Waterford died in 1859 and Jack was still sighted as late as 1904. This could howver also be explained by gossip and false reports.
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