Who is/was spring heeled Jack?

Question

fact or fiction?

Answer 1

Spring Heeled Jack (also Springheel Jack, Spring-heel Jack, etc.) is a character from English folklore said to have existed during the Victorian era and be able to jump extraordinarily high. The first recorded claimed sighting of Spring Heeled Jack occurred in 1837. Later alleged sightings were reported from all over England, from London up to Sheffield and Liverpool, but they were especially prevalent in suburban London and later in the Midlands and Scotland.

Many theories have been proposed to ascertain his nature and identity, none of which have been capable of completely clarifying the subject. The phenomenon still remains unexplained.

Answer 2

Springheeled Jack was a character in British folklore, but there were many newpapers of the time who also called Jack the Ripper by that name because although people saw the bodies, no one ever saw Jack. Springheeled Jack is fiction and Jack the Ripper was fact. One in the same? Doubtful. Spring came first

Answer 3

Great question, we had to study him when I was at school

That guy just liften his answer straight off the web...it is pretty accurate but there are better stories on the web for him

Sprin heeled jack was a folklore that lasted 70 years in England..Jack the Ripper was said to be named after him as neither were ever caught....

Spring healed Jack ultimately was a romantic thing that the papers ran alot with to gain interest..news papers weren't hugely read back then..

I am amazed a film has never been done about him

Answer 4

Wikipedia

Answer 5

He was often reported as looking like a sort of monster who could jump over houses and could breathe fire. He was also said to have fire cming out of his eyes and a cackled in a gibberish language. I seem to remember a good section on him in the encyclopedia of monsters by Daniel Cohen, if you can get a copy ity would be worth a look.
There are some similarities to the later Jack the Ripper but this was several decades later and the Ripper was far more brutal and blood thirsty.

Answer 6

I vaguely remember this - wasnt he a thief?? I cant remember all that much.

I think fiction - purely becaue I was a bit of a tom boy back in the day and used to collect the "monsters in my pocket" toys. he was one of the characters, along with a load of other random monsters who were fake. But i'm just guessing here and making an assumption!!!

Answer 7

it was the name that was given to an acrobatic rapist in the 1830's onwards, possibly the Marquis of Waterford, though some of the incredible jumps Jack made led some to believe he was an Alien but nobody knows if this was the case and if he is dead, rescued or hiding waiting his chance

Answer 8

he was a dark figure never been identified by anybody,he was called spring heeld jack because he was reportedly seen jumping across rooftops and vaulting tall walls in liverpool.

Answer 9

Who's got the Jack???

Answer 10

if your interested in stories such as this ,Stephen King wrote a brill short story called `strawberry spring` in his compilation `night shift`