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A look at Spring-heeled Jack



Columnist: Paul Dale Roberts Posted on Wednesday, 31 December, 2014 | 9 comments Columnist:

Article Copyright© Paul Dale Roberts - reproduced with permission.

Before I was even a ghosthunter, I was doing investigations on my own. In 1994, I went to London, England and went to the sites where the infamous Spring-heeled Jack frequented. If you don't know who Spring-heeled Jack is, let me tell you. Spring-heeled Jack was first sighted by witnesses in 1837. He was described as a monster that was able to leap incredibly high. He could leap from rooftop to rooftop or cemetery fences that were 12 feet high. He was seen all around London and other small towns nearby such as Liverpool. He had clawed hands, eyes that were bright flaming red and witnesses said that blue and white flames would at times come out of his mouth. Some witnesses said he spoke perfect English and at times wore a helmet. When looking at his face, his face appeared as 'devilish'. He was truly a frightening creature to look at. His clothes were described as white oil skin and tight fitting. Some witnesses say he wore a cloak.Two attacks that Spring-heeled Jack committed left England in shock and disarray. October 1837 Mary Stevens was confronted by Spring-heeled Jack and she was kissed on the face. She was fondled by Spring-heeled Jack's clammy cold hands. Jane Alsop was also attacked by Spring-heeled Jack and he scratched her repeatedly on the neck and arms.When I went to London, I made contact with Richard Baynes. I met Richard on the Jack the Ripper East London tour. I overheard him speaking to his girlfriend about Spring-heeled Jack and it peaked my curiosity. When I went to England, I had made plans to visit Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Square, Tower of London, Thames River and other famous sites, but when I got to talking with Richard, this is what he told me from my best recollection:"Paul, Spring-heeled Jack is still with us. In May of 1987, I was looking from my balcony. It was dusk and I could make the shadow of a man leaping from one rooftop to another. I saw him leap across 3 rooftops total and then vanish. I know what I saw and I believe to this day it was Spring-heeled Jack."I asked Richard where those rooftops were and went with my ex-wife Patricia and son Jason to the locations and tried to determine how long the length of the leaps must have been. I estimated the so-called Spring-heeled Jack must have leapt 10 feet from roof to roof with possibly an 8 story drop, if he were to miss his target. Richard seemed very sincere and I can only wonder what he saw on that day? I visited Lavender Hill in London to see the area where Spring-heeled Jack was sighted and tried to take my mind back to the days of the sightings. I could only wonder how so many people saw this creature and their stories seemed so precise in their descriptions. When they described the events, they were consistent and there were no apparent contradictions. How can so many witnesses be lying? Was it some kind of mass hysteria? Perhaps what they were seeing was an interdimensional creature. I don't believe they were witnesses to something extraterrestrial, as no UFOs were seen during the sightings. It appeared that Spring-heeled Jack would appear and vanish mysteriously. It seems that Spring-heeled Jack was able to enter a portal into our reality and jump into his own reality.My last investigation into Spring-heeled Jack was my visit to Newark, New Jersey in 2005. A man I will simply call 'John' emailed me and told me that he saw Spring-heeled Jack in 2001 at his home. A man with devilish looks, an outfit that almost looked like a tuxedo was peering at John through his front yard window. As John stared back at this man, it appeared that he leapt straight up into their front yard tree. John went outside with a kitchen knife and looked into the tree where Spring-heeled Jack was standing on a top branch. Spring-heeled Jack looked down at John and John noticed his eyes were glowing red. Chills went up and down John's spine and as he continued to look, Spring-heeled Jack faded out into nothingness. John never knew about the legends of Spring-heeled Jack, but had contacted me after reading a blurb I did on a UFO story, where I briefly mentioned Spring-heeled Jack.I met John at my hotel in Newark and after he told me the story, he never witnessed this creature again. I asked him if he had any other paranormal experiences and the only thing he could recall that was somewhat paranormal is that he thought he would be in a car accident soon and even dreamed of a car accident. About one week later after his thoughts of an impending car accident, he was involved in a head on car accident that landed him in the hospital with broken ribs and a broken foot.