In the fall of 1837, Mary Stevens was walking home from work near Clapham Common in London. Through the fog, a gentleman approached from a darkened alleyway. As he came closer, she noticed something odd. His eyes were glowing red, and his breath was blue and white flame; this was no gentleman. In an instant, the maniac leaped upon her, flashing his steel claws. He kissed her several times and clawed at her blouse. Her frightened screams drew the attention of bystanders, and the fiend fled, effortlessly leaping over a tall gate. She had just met Spring-Heeled Jack.
Over the centuries, many villains have stalked London’s gloomy streets. Some harmlessly conjured from folklore, others terrifyingly real. The devilish Spring-Heeled Jack was one scoundrel who straddled the line between myth and reality.
Witnesses describe Jack as finely dressed, with red eyes and steel claws. Those who saw him closeup claim he wore a skintight white oilskin underneath his gentlemanly attire. They also report that he wore a peculiar helmet that contributed to his devil-like appearance. Most intriguing was the fiend’s ability to leap over fences and even rooftops, hence his moniker of “Spring-Heeled.”
The night following Mary Stevens’ encounter, another woman was attacked in Clapham Common. This time, when Jack fled the scene, he jumped onto the road into the path of an oncoming carriage, causing the driver to lose control and crash. Numerous bystanders witnessed the incident.
By January of 1838, incidents were mounting. The press ran wild with the story, and angry citizens demanded action. One anonymous letter writer wrote:
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.
On the night of February 19, 1838, Jane Alsop answered a knock at the door. The stranger claimed to be a police officer, asking her to bring a light to the porch as they had just apprehended Spring-Heeled Jack. When she returned with a candle, the man threw off his cloak to reveal his flaming red eyes and steel claws. He then belched blue flame and began clawing at her gown. Jane’s sister heard her screams and came to her aid, chasing the attacker.
Then, on February 28, Jack struck again. Lucy Scales was walking with her sister near the Green Dragon Alley when she observed a tall, thin man in a large cloak standing in the shadows before them. As Lucy approached, the man lunged out and spurted a large quantity of blue flame in her face. She was immediately blinded and fell to the ground in a fit. Her sister came to her aid, and the man fled.
The Scales and Alsop attacks brought the media attention to a frenzy. The Lord Mayor was forced into action, ordering extra police patrols, and the entire city seemed on the edge of hysteria. This heightened vigilance seemed to deter the attacks, and incidents began to decline. By 1840, they faded almost completely.
Spring-Heeled Jack had become a cultural phenomenon. Even as his visitations diminished, his legend grew, fueled by sensationalist journalism and penny dreadfuls. He was an ever-present monster in the shadows, a bogeyman for the ages. It seemed that just when he began to drift from the public’s memory, Jack would return with a vengeance to remind them.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed Western Horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy and other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
