The Tape Library - Archive of the Paranormal & the Unexplained - Spring Heeled Jack - The Tape Library - Episode 2

Episode Date: July 20, 2022

From 1837 onwards, Victorian London was terrorised by an entity that would attack innocent people. Shooting flames from its mouth and slashing at their clothes with its metallic claws. This entity was described by witnesses as a bear, a ghost and even the devil himself. It would soon become known as Spring Heeled Jack. In this episode of The Tape Library, we'll be looking at Spring Heeled Jack. Cryptid, urban legend or wicked prankster. Let's get into it.... Be sure to check out our video versions of the podcast (and a whole bunch of bonuses) over on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4HyRUXSg62i9dWT6oIGIQ ©TheTapeLibrary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The bell rang on the gate of the Allsop's family home at 8.45pm, February 20th, 1838. Unusual to have a visitor this late, the family all glanced at one another. 18-year-old Jane stood up apprehensively. She stepped through the front door, the bitter cold of the night, stinging her skin. Slowly, she walked the short path to her front gate. The roads and lanes around this small village, just at the east of the low, London had long been cloaked in darkness since the winter sun had set hours ago. In the din of the lane, she could just about make out a tall man standing there,

wrapped up in a large coat. Even from a distance, Jane could sense his agitation. Jane could just about make out an odd shape around his head, protruding from the cloak, a hat perhaps. Jane cautiously asked him, what was the matter? I'm a policeman, the darkened figure, shouted sharply. For God's sake, bring me a light, for we have caught Spring Hill Jack here in the lane. A shiver shot down Jane's spine. She knew the name Spring Hill Jack. Everyone knew the name Spring Hill Jack.

His name had been spoken in whispers between children, the subject of dark tales late at night in taverns, a warning between servants who were tasked with answering. door, Jane raced back into the house and without first consulting her family, grabbed a candle and darted back out into the darkness. Jane opened the gate and handed the man the candle. She was instantly hit by the feeling that something was wrong. The man stood still for a moment, before dropping his cloak to the ground. He moved the candle to his chest, illuminating his hideously ugly face, pale pointed features, eyes glowing red, and what appeared to be a helmet upon his head.

Jane screamed in terror. She instinctively knew that this was the demon who had been tormenting so many. But before she could turn and run, the ghoul attacked. Stunning her by shooting blue flames from his mouth, Jack grabbed at Jane's clothes. They ripped as she felt what seemed to be cold metallic claws scratching at her skin. Jack grabbed her by the head, but Jane was able to get free. Jane ran, screeching for help as she clumsily ran up the path. She reached the steps, but was no match for the speed of Jack, who pinned her to the ground, his metallic claws slashing at her clothes and threw to her delicate skin. Jane's younger sister opened the door, but was frozen to the spot when Jack,

glanced up at her in her rage, his red eyes piercing into young Mary Orsop's soul as he ripped out chunks of Jane's hair. Luckily Jane's older sister Sarah appeared moments later and did not hesitate to pull Jane from Jack's clutches before slamming shut the front door. But Jack didn't give up so easily. He pounded on the door, scratching with his claws to try and get at his prey. The family rushes upstairs and began shouting from the windows for help. Jack, seemingly realising the game was up, glanced up one final time at Jane before disappearing into the darkness. His devilish chuckle growing distant as he vanished down the lane. The incident at the Allsop's

family home is the most detailed account of any experience with the legend of Spring Hill Jack. Multiple witnesses were able to back up the story and in the following weeks police launched a serious investigation into the incident. But it wasn't the first reported incident of Spring Hill Jack. For months, reports around the outskirts of London had been popping up that something was terrorising the public. What that something was depended on the story. Some spoke of a bear-like creature. Others a ghost. Some thought the devil himself had come to Victorian England. Others claimed that these incidents were nothing more than the work of upper-class pranksters, shape-shifting demon, bored rich men, urban legend? Or could Jack have a much

more simple but arguably darker explanation? It's time to dim the lights and get comfortable. This is the fascinating tale of Spring Hill Jack. I remember being in primary school, maybe around nine or ten years old, and reading a short piece in a book about Spring Hill Jack. The book, aimed at children, left out some of the darker aspects of Jack's story. But as far as I can remember, this was the first fortian-esque story that truly fascinated me. The idea that this being wasn't somewhere in the middle of the forest halfway around the world. Here was the story of something unexplained that happened within an hour of where I lived. The idea of this man, terrifying the instant, shooting out fire as he escaped the police, leaping over rooftops,

and vanishing into the night, set my imagination ablaze. Talking about Spring Hill Jack is difficult. Records of the time weren't the best. The tales of Jack were mostly just conversations, passed between locals nearly 200 years ago. Much of what may have happened then is likely lost to time. What makes the stories about Spring Hill Jack so interesting is that they are reported over such a large period of time in a variety of locations. Police, soldiers, prostitutes, servants, the rich, the poor, it didn't matter who you were.

There was a chance that Spring Hill Jack could come for you. There are stories dating back as far as the early 1800s that describe encounters that bear a resemblance to the widely recognised characteristics of Jack. But seemingly, the first officially reported sighting of the man who would come to be known as Spring Hill Jack dates back to October 8th.000. 1837. Mary Stevens was walking home alone late one evening through Clapham Common. As she passed a darker dally, a figure leapt out in front of her path. He grabbed hold of Mary and began forcing kisses on her, clawing at her clothes as he did. When he touched her skin, she didn't feel the normal warmth of the human body. She described her hands as claws that were cold and clammy as those of a corpse. Mary screamed for help.

And luckily several locals heard her and came rushing to her aid. Seeing the crowd headed his way, Jack supposedly leapt off into the night, disappearing in a flash. The following day in the same area, someone leapt out in front of a coach, causing the coach to crash and the driver to be seriously injured. Witnesses claimed the man who had jumped out in front of the coach ran off, cackling with laughter. Whilst this incident would have been a strange sight to see on the streets of London, it was the escape that really started Jack's legend.

The witnesses claim they saw the strange man escape by leaping over a nine-foot wall, still laughing as he vanished into the distance. The early reports of Spring Hill Jack really varied in their descriptions. Famously, witnesses claim to see a ghost, a bear, or most commonly, a figure that they described. as a devil. But soon the descriptions of Jack began to become more consistent. Clawed hands or metallic knives for fingers were often described,

glowing red eyes, a long black cloak. More interestingly, he was said to wear a helmet and a tight white oil skin under his cloak. The thing that really set Jack apart from being some troublemaking lunatic was the more fantastical, but fascinatingly consistent descriptions of his abilities. He was able to leap to incredible heights, jumping over gates and across rooftops with ease. Even more terrifyingly, many witnesses spoke about his ability to breathe out, blue and white flames. Just a few months later, sightings of Spring Hill Jack were becoming so common around London that the Lord Mayor himself, Sir John Cowen, brought the topic up at an official public session.

He had received a letter from a resident in Peckham that suggested this might be the word. of a group of bored rich pranksters. The Lord Mayor's statement read as follows. It appears that some individuals of, as this writer believes, the highest ranks of life, have laid a wager with a mischievous and full-hardy companion, that he does not take upon himself the task of visiting many of the villages near London in three different disguises, a ghost, a bear, and a devil. and moreover that he will not enter a gentleman's garden for the purpose of alarming the inmates of the house.

The wager has however been accepted and the unmanly villain has succeeded in depriving seven ladies of their senses, two of whom are not likely to recover but to become burdens to their family. At one house the man rang the bell and on the servant coming to open the door, this worst and brute stood in no less dreadful figure than a spectre clad most purpose. The consequence was that the poor girl immediately swooned and has never from that moment been in her senses. The affair has now been going on for some time, and strange to say, the papers are still silent on the subject. When the Lord Mayor had finished reading this letter, he stated that he was sceptical of the whole thing. But a member of the audience that was present confirmed the servant girls around the city had been telling dreadful tales of this ghost or devil.

But the Lord Mayor dodged responsibility for Jack's escapades. Most of the initial reports were happening outside the boundaries of London and were therefore not his concern. The Lord Mayor's statement gave Jack's story the spark that it needed and soon the papers were reporting on the matter. Letters started pouring in from all around London, complaining about the devil in his wicked pranks. Claims of young women frightened into dangerous fits

or left with physical wounds after an attack from Jack. Police officers have reported being slapped by Jack while on patrol. Others had claimed to shoot at him, but to no avail. Spring Hill Jack was always able to leap away as quickly as it would appear. Children claimed to see him dancing in the moonlight outside the Royal Palace, before disappearing over the top of a large wall. There were even reports of women being frightened to death after an encounter with Jack. Public interest in Jack was growing fast, but it was the next two incidents that turned him into a household name.

First, there was the attack on Jane Alsop that I discussed at the start of the episode. Jane's father offered up a reward for information about Jack, but nothing came of it. Interestingly, this attack is said to have taken place at 8.45 in the evening. Attacks were often reported as happening between 8pm and 9pm, on the wintry streets of Victorian London. Much of the city would have been cloaked in darkness, making it easy for Jack to move around undetected. But another interesting note is this is the same time that police officers would swap over their shifts, meaning they were less likely to be on the streets. The second notable incident happened to 18-year-old Lucy Scales and her sister.

Around half-eight in the evening, the pair walked through Green Dragon Alley, when Lucy saw someone in a cloak, standing at the edge of the end of the same. the alleyway. When she got close enough, the figure spun round and instantly splurped blue flames into her face. Lucy collapsed and started to have a seizure on the spot. Lucy's sister rushed over to help her. Jack simply turned and walked away, not saying a word. Another interesting detail is that Lucy's sister claimed the assailant was carrying a lantern that was very similar to what the police would use while patrolling the streets. From this point on, stories of Spring Hill Jack began spreading like wildfire.

People began to create their own Spring Hill Jack hoaxes and pranks, making it nearly impossible for the authorities to launch any serious investigations into the incident. The area that the reports were coming from grew as well. By May, tales of Jack were spreading all throughout the southeast. By June, he was apparently causing havoc all around the city. the country. Was Jack really behind all this chaos? Were there multiple people behind the Springfield Jack attacks? Or was this simply a case of mass hysteria and an urban legend spawning before the eyes of an entire country? Looking back, specifically on the earlier tales of Springfield Jack,

it's hard not to think that it could be a much more human but equally disturbing explanation for what was happening here. Many of the descriptions of Jack's attacks saw him groping and tearing at the clothes with his female victims, while male encounters seem to demonstrate pure acts of physical aggression. It is seemingly very possible that these attacks were examples of sexual assault. That Spring Hill Jack was nothing more than an unhinged rapist, running around London, attacking lone women. Victorian society was famously very repressed. Victims of sexual assault would in many cases not have been treated well, and it would have been seen as a great source of shame for many of the women. This was a time when a woman out alone on the streets at night

would have raised questions. People would not speak of sex in public, so attempting to explain a false sexual encounter to the authorities would have been an uncomfortable experience, to say the least. Could this explain the claims of severe trauma that many of his victims seem to demonstrate? Were there more supernatural claims about Jack, a way of making the events seem more wildly out of the control of any human being, so as to avoid any possibility of victim blaming, something that would have been rife at the time. As the years progressed, the stories of Spring Hill Jack grew wilder. There were even reports of Jack shooting fireballs from his hand at police as he leapt across rooftops to evade them. In 1842, police in Suffolk reported they had captured Jack, only for him

to mysteriously vanish from his cell. In 1845, it was claimed that the murder of the murder of of a prostitute was the victim of Jack. He appeared, blew his trademark blue flames into her face, and shoved her off a bridge, although a straight-up murder of this nature didn't seem to fit his style. It seems the chances of others' crimes being blamed on Jack during this time was high. Decades later, in the 1870s, a string of attacks from a Spring Hill Jack-like entity were reported by the British military. Jack would appear in the darkness at outposts, and the slap or slash at the unsuspecting soldiers before disappearing off into the darkness with his wicked cackle. This happened so frequently that soldiers even began firing at Jack, but were never able to hit

their target. Reports continued well into the early 20th century. Jack was reported to be hunting the streets of Liverpool now, but was even reported in the United States, although with some notable differences. Instead of breathing fire, these more recent claims reported that Jack had a glowing blue light in his chest, but much of his behaviour would remain the same. Sporadic reports of Spring Hill Jack continued for over a century after his initial appearance, although they became less and less common. Jack blurs the lines between a supernatural entity and a vile criminal. The commonly accepted explanation of this being the work of pranksters really doesn't seem to hold up. purely because of the extreme nature of some of the attacks.

The physical and more often mental injuries inflicted on Jack's victims suggest something much more mean-spirited than a simple prank. Whatever Spring Hill Jack was, his legacy will remain as an icon of a period in British history. Human, bear, ghost, or the devil himself. We may never know. But I know I certainly wouldn't want to have running to take. Spring Hill Jack on the dark streets of Victoria London. If you enjoyed this story, then please like, subscribe and share with your friends. We're just getting this

started so anything you do can be a great help. There are many more stories buried in the tape library and I can't wait to bring you the next one. Pleasant dreams to you all.