Spring Heeled Jack

For nearly seventy years, from 1837 to the early twentieth century, reports circulated throughout England of a terrifying figure known as Spring Heeled Jack. Described as a tall, thin man with claw-like hands, glowing eyes, and the supernatural ability to leap over walls and buildings, Jack terrorized victims—particularly young women—and evaded all attempts at capture. He became one of the Victorian era’s most enduring urban legends.

First Appearances

The first reported sighting occurred in September 1837, when a businessman returning home late at night claimed a strange figure leaped over a cemetery fence and landed in his path. The figure had pointed ears and glowing eyes.

Reports multiplied in the following months. In October, a girl named Mary Stevens was attacked in Clapham by a figure who gripped her with claw-like hands and kissed her face, his hands feeling cold and clammy like a corpse. When she screamed, the figure bounded away over a nine-foot wall.

Within days, the same figure reportedly attacked a coachman, causing an accident that injured several passengers.

The Official Recognition

In January 1838, the Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Cowan, held a public meeting about the attacks after receiving an anonymous complaint. The Lord Mayor read the letter aloud, describing how young women in the villages surrounding London were being attacked by someone who could jump over walls and buildings.

The case became a sensation. Newspapers competed for the latest sightings. Vigilante groups formed to capture the monster. The Duke of Wellington, then almost seventy years old, reportedly armed himself and went hunting for Spring Heeled Jack.

The Attack on Jane Alsop

The most detailed attack occurred on February 19, 1838. Jane Alsop, an eighteen-year-old woman living in Bow, answered a knock at her door. A figure at the gate claimed to be a policeman and said, “For God’s sake, bring me a light, for we have caught Spring Heeled Jack here in the lane!”

When Jane brought a candle, the figure threw off a cloak, revealing a hideous face with glowing eyes. He breathed blue and white fire in her face and attacked her with metal claws, tearing her dress and hair. Jane’s sister rescued her, and the attacker fled.

Jane provided a detailed description: tall and thin, wearing a helmet and tight-fitting white garments, with glowing eyes and the ability to breathe fire.

Spreading Sightings

Spring Heeled Jack was not confined to London. Sightings spread across England—in Sheffield, Liverpool, the Midlands, and elsewhere. The figure was reported for decades, with clusters of sightings in different regions at different times.

In 1877, soldiers at Aldershot Barracks reported being attacked by a figure that leaped over them and slapped their faces before bounding away. One sentry reportedly shot at the figure without effect.

The last significant cluster of sightings occurred in Liverpool in 1904, where Jack was seen leaping over rooftops before vanishing.

Theories

Numerous explanations have been proposed for Spring Heeled Jack.

Some researchers have suggested that the Marquess of Waterford, an Irish nobleman known for cruel practical jokes, may have been responsible for at least some early attacks. He had the wealth, physical ability, and temperament to pull off such stunts.

Others have proposed that Jack was not a single person but multiple copycats inspired by the original reports. As the legend spread, pranksters across England may have donned costumes and terrorized their communities.

More exotic theories propose that Jack was a genuine supernatural entity, an extraterrestrial visitor, or some form of interdimensional being.

Cultural Impact

Spring Heeled Jack became a fixture of Victorian popular culture. He appeared in penny dreadfuls (cheap fiction magazines), plays, and later in comic books and horror fiction. He was one of the first modern urban legends, spreading through newspapers and word of mouth decades before the term “urban legend” existed.

The legend influenced later figures, including the American “Mad Gasser of Mattoon” in the 1940s and various “phantom attacker” panics throughout the twentieth century.

Assessment

Spring Heeled Jack may have been a single prankster, multiple copycats, mass hysteria, or something stranger. The attacks on women appear genuine—victims like Jane Alsop provided detailed, consistent accounts. But the supernatural abilities attributed to Jack—leaping over buildings, breathing fire—suggest either exaggeration or deliberate theatrical effects.

Whatever Spring Heeled Jack was, he terrorized Victorian England for decades and was never caught. He remains one of history’s most enduring mysterious figures—part attacker, part legend, entirely unexplained.