Spring-Heeled Jack

Astonishing Legends vor 11 Jahren

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42:46

Legend:

In 1837, someone or something leapt into history in nine foot
bounds, assaulting women and men, breathing fire and tearing at
their clothes. What exactly was Spring-Heeled Jack?

Background:

Tonight we're diving into the history of Spring-Heeled Jack.
We're going to take a look at one of the most detailed research
papers ever done on him and try to figure out just who or what he
might have been. Join us as we unravel the various sightings and
take a look at all the plausible explanations that have been put
forth over the years and then you can decide for yourself if
Spring-Heeled Jack was super natural or a cunning hoax followed
by copycat hoaxing for over 150 years.

Tonight's Quote:

"He also has spring-heeled or india-rubber soled boots, for no
man living could leap so lightly, and, I might say, fly across
the ground in the manner he did last night.’ ~ GHR Davidson
(Greater London Citizen, 1872)

If you can't click on these links, visit our website.

Mike Dash Mike's Definitive Paper on Spring-Heeled Jack
Spring-Heeled Jack on Wikipedia Was Mass Hysteria Responsible for
Jack? A Recent Case of Mass Hysteria You Might Remember from the
News The Wikipedia Entry on Steampunk and it's Anachronism's as
Mentioned by Forrest Spiritualism, an Influence on the Zeitgeist
and Mindset of the Time The Industrial Revolution, Another
Possible Influence on the Minds of Witnesses The Red Barn Murder
The Incredible Mystery of the Coral Castle A Gutenberg Link to a
1903 Book Detailing A Spring-Heeled Jack Assault (scroll to page
27 as annotated in the right column)

Final Observations:

Even if some of these sightings can be explained as exaggerated
or explainable by other means, what is at the root of what
witnesses first saw all of those years ago that could jump over
nine feet in the air? Perhaps that first sighting or the first
few were the only real sightings and if so what was it? I lean
towards a mechanical contraption of some kind, although I can't
imagine it's design and Forrest leans in the direction of
something super natural.

For more information on this episode visit our website!

Credits:

Episode 015 - 'Spring-Heeled Jack' Produced by Scott Philbrook
& Forrest Burgess, Ryan McCullough Sound Design
Copyright Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess 2015, All Rights
Reserved.

Photos: All images Public Domain. Various Spring-Heeled Jack
Photos from Penny Dreadful Covers and Portrait of the Marquess of
Waterford, a possible Suspect.