Hop, Skip and Jump!
What do you think Jack was?
Spring heeled jack was said to have terrorized the people of the UK for more than 60 years. He was described in many forms such as a ghost, imp, bear and even a white bull but most commonly a well dressed devil man who leapt between the rooftops at night with ease attacking women as he went.
Jack's first attack came in January 1838 when he brutally attacked local barmaid Polly Adams as she cross Blackheath in south London. His next target would be Mary Stevens who he terrified while she made her way through Barnes Common and while these attacks were very much real they did not gain much publicity because they were in less populated areas outside of central London unlike Jack's next victim.
On a seemingly quiet night in February 1838 a man disturbed the peace by furiously ringing the doorbell and banging on the door of Jane Alsop's home yelling claims that he has successfully captured the one and only spring heeled jack but needed help keeping him detained. Answering the cries at her door Jane immediately rushed out into the street to provide the man with some candle light but when she finally reached him she was met with a face full of blue flames blinding her long enough so that the attack may begin ripping at her clothes and skin with his claw like gloves. Jane managed to get free fleeing back to her home but Jack was able to catch up wrapping both hands around her throat until he was disturbed by the noise of Jane's sister coming to her aid forcing him to retreat off back into the darkness of night in which he came from. The next day came and Jane was summoned to London magistrates to give her recount of the nights events. Jane described Jack as being an inhuman demonic creature with fireball eyes, spitting blue flames who wore a white skin tight costume accompanied by a helmet and claw like gloves.
The attack on Jane Alsop gained Jack legitimacy throughout London it was much closer to home for many and people were now taking the claims of attacks seriously. A few days later and Jack struck again this time it was a local butchers daughter from Limehouse named Lucy Scales while out on an evening stroll with her sister. Jack saw the opportunity and leapt out of the shadows in front of them blowing his signature blue flames into their faces but before Jack could attack Lucy fell to the floor and began to seizure scaring Jack off.
As a result of these resent attacks Jack's reputation began to grow making him more and more popular to the eye's of fictional writers who began writing him into their stories such as a number of penny dreadfuls where Jack was given the title terror of London.
The height of the 1850s to 1860s came and Jack had reportedly been seen in other parts of the UK not just exclusively London. His notoriety now inspired copycat attackers seeking their own claim to fame but the police had, had enough and growing desperate in their attempts to catch him. Some claimed Jack was many men part of a group of wealthy aristocrats acting out on a dare while others believed Jack to be the marquis of Waterford branded the mad marquis for his eccentricity and wild nature al though violence was never one of his traits.
The duke of Wellington even joined in the search leaving armed on horseback each night in the hopes of catching or killing Jack along with the army who set up traps after there had been reports of Jack harassing and terrorizing sentries on an army base in Aldershot which ended in Jack being shot but without any effect he laughed it off and bound off once more into the night. Finally the last sighting of jack was reported in Everton, Liverpool 1904 where he narrowly escaped capture by a group of angry locals never to be seen again.
Comments