A menacing, elusive and quick-footed character has been a part of folklore from Victorian times. Due to his strange ability to jump over high walls, fences and buildings, he was given the name of Spring-heeled Jack.

This human looking creature became a figure of horror and fear in parts of England and Scotland and later even in the United States, scaring and suddenly appearing and disappearing by quick high jumps and sometimes even simply disappearing from sight.

The first reports started coming in, in 1837. Mary Stevens was walking home after a visit to her parents’ house, when this terrifying figure appeared from a dark alley and attacked her. The culprit was either wearing claws or had them as hands with which he ripped at her. She began to scream in great panic, which made the creature run away quickly. Many people heard the screams and rushed out to help the frightened girl. A search party went looking for her attacker, but failed to find any such person.

Interestingly, the very next day the strange intruder leapt in front of a passing carriage. The coachman lost control of the reins and fell from the carriage and got seriously injured. People, who saw the intruder, said that he jumped over a wall, which was nine feet high and gave a high-pitched laugh. When the newspapers heard of the incidents, the evasive, horrible creature wasgiven the name of Spring-heeled Jack.

The Lord Mayor of London, Sir John Cowen held a public conference declaring that he had received many letters from people complaining or reporting about the strange thing and his “wicked pranks”. One of the writers of the letters to the Mayor also stated that several young women in Hammersmith were so frightened that it was difficult to control them as the fast mischief-maker had attacked them with his claws. Similarly, many such cases were reported from other surrounding areas.

Lucy Scales and Jane Alsop were two other girls who had been attached by the monster. On February 19th, 1838, Jane Alsop answered the door of her house. In front of her stood a man who said he was a police officer. He told her, “We have caught Spring-heeled Jack here in the lane.” When she got a candle, she noticed that the man was wearing a large cloak. As she handed him the candle, he threw back his robe to reveal his scary self.

He vomited blue and white flames while his eyes glowed like red fireballs. His actual clothing was like a tight bodysuit which could be called oilskin. He attacked at her with his metallic claws but she managed to scream and free herself from him and run towards the house. He again caught and clawed her, before one of her sisters ran out to rescue her. At that moment, the horrible creature ran away.

Then after eight days another attack took place. This time it was Lucy Scales who was returning home with her sister. Just asthey were turning the lane, she was confronted by a man who opened its mouth to blow flames in her face. She fell down while having fits. Her brother, whose shop they had visited, heard the screams and ran to see the other sister holding Lucy who was on the ground.

Both the stories were carried by the press. The police managed to question a few people they suspected and described the suspect as being a tall and thin man holding the kind of lantern. But no one seemed to be the terrible person that was committing such ghastly attacks.

The attack on Jane Alsop was printed in the Times with the heading, “The Late Outrage at Old Ford”, dated March 2, 1838. After this a man by the name of Thomas Millibank was arrested. He even owned up to the cloak and oilskin, but Jane had reported that her attacker had breathed fire. This was something that Millibank was not able to do.

Over the years, there were several attacks on coaches and other people as well and his area of attacks widened. In August 1877, the most interesting and reliable of all the previous reports were made from Aldershot’s Barracks. Here a sentry on duty at night was trying to make out a strange figure coming towards him. The soldier called out for the man to stop. Heedless of the warning, the man approached the soldier and slapped him many times. A guard nearby shot at the stranger but the bullets seemed to go right through the person. The man then took huge leaps and disappeared into the darkness.

Then in the year 1888, Spring-heeled Jack was seen on the rooftop of Saint Francis Xavier’s Church in Everton North Liverpool.

Lastly, during 1986, a travelling salesman near the border in Wales again reported this strange and evil creature. He passed him on the road, misbehaving by slapping him and leapt at enormous heights and ran off. Here he described him as having a long chin.

As recently as February 2012, a man named Scott Martin saw a dark figure in Stoneleigh, UK, at 10:30 at night. They were in a taxi and managed to see this entity run across the road in front of them and then climb over a 15-feet bank in seconds. Was it the same individual who had earned himself the name of Spring-heeled Jack so many years ago? There have been numerous theories. He could be someone from another dimension.

He could be some age-defying extraterrestrial, or as some think, this thing could be the ghost of someone who had led an evil life. Surely, no one can jump that high as witnesses have reported over the centuries. He or she would definitely break their ankles attempting such feats. Some say that the later reports are people who are trying to copy the original person, whoever or whatever it was. Or is this entire scenario just exaggeration by people taken over by fear and hysteria? No one really knows.