Spring-Heeled Jack is a boogeyman entity in English folklore during the Victorian Era, where his name caused fear among those who lived in London during that time. Reports of this entity began in 1837 and most of his attacks were against women, where he would ring the doorbell and then cause severe damage to their clothing with sharp claws, or just simply ambush people while they are out walking. The descriptions of him were so varied of what he looked like that sometimes he was described as having the appearance of a ghost, the Devil or even a bear, but many of the descriptions of him claimed he had clawed hands, fiery red eyes, wore a helmet, cape, and a tight-fitting white outfit.
Those in authority believed that this entity was just a man or group of wealthy men that were dressing up and scaring people on a bet, and several men were brought in for questioning for the different attacks. But there were many that believed that because of his terrifying and frightful appearance, that he was more paranormal, and could be the Devil or a demon, a shape-shifting figure, a spectral phantom, or even an alien.
Who or what terrorized England? Join us for episode 138 to hear more about Spring-Heeled Jack!
Sources:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-heeled_Jack, atlasobscura.com/articles/meet-springheeled-jack-the-leaping-devil-that-terrorized-victorian-england, allthatsinteresting.com/spring-heeled-jack, historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Spring-Heeled-Jack/, thoughtcatalog.com/january-nelson/2018/08/spring-heeled-jack/, monster.fandom.com/wiki/Spring-heeled_Jack, strangehistory.org/cms/index.php/popular/57-spring-heeled-jack-man-or-myth