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Tom Edwards
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, May 15, 2005 - 7:21 am: | 
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I find it incredible that the crimes committed in Whitechapel have never properly been credited as having been the work of one Spring Heeled Jack.. This cloaked figure who sprung over hedges and walls after his attacks which were usually on young women, was first encountered in 1837 in the towns and villages along the Thames. He came to London in 1838 and was sighted up and down the country in the following decades. The final official sighting of him was in Liverpool in 1904 where he was seen leaping across the rooftops.
It would appear that Spring Heeled Jack was no figment of the imagination either but is a figure who had actually existed. Vigilante committees had been formed to track him down which had included the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Codrington who hunted him on horseback.
Some have suggested the original Spring Heeled Jack had been the Marquis of Waterford, an Irish nobleman, who either as a result of a grudge against woman in general and the police or as a result of a wager with a fellow dignitary, had dressed up in a particularly outlandish fashion in order to scare his victims. It is also said that an engineering friend had constructed special shoes with spring heels built into them and that he had practised the art of fire breathing in order to increase his devil-like appearance.
But whether Spring Heeled Jack was simply an individual dressed up or a supernatural creature there are a number of comparisons that can be drawn with the case of Jack the Ripper. Firstly the assailant concerned was able to come and go from the crime scene without being seen almost as if he had vanished into thin air and what better way to have done this than to have leapt onto the very rooftops to have made his escape? Secondly Spring Heeled Jack was described as having torn at his victim’s clothing with sharp claws. Is it possible that the injuries sustained by the murder victims at Whitechapel had also been caused by razor sharp claws?
Indeed why did the press at the time not identify Jack the Ripper with Spring Heeled Jack? If the character known as Spring Heeled Jack had been an individual who was simply dressed up perhaps his practical joke had gone a few steps too far? Perhaps his grudge against women and the police had caused him to commit this series of outrages as a final and lasting act of revenge?
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Thomas Edwards
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, May 22, 2005 - 9:00 am: |
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Even though I appear to be speaking to myself a bit here a futher question has come to mind. I wonder if Freddy Krueger of "Nightmare on Elm Street" fame was in fact inspired by Spring Heeled Jack? He has the same 'metallic claws' spoken of in relation to Spring Heeled Jack. Not having seen any of the movies myself I wonder if there are any other similarities in addition to this? Sightings have apparently been made of Spring Heeled Jack in the US as well where the film was produced. |
Helge Samuelsen
Sergeant
Username: Helge
Post Number: 42
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 4:49 pm: |
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Tom, I have been intrigued by the Springheel Jack episode myself. However, why the connection was never made..could it be because of the 51 years between the two cases?
Given that Springheeled Jack, whoever it was, could be considered at least to be 20ish (and probably much older), that leaves us with a Whitechapel killer at 71 years minimum!
Besides the MO is utterly different!!
Sincerely Helge
Fascinating! (Mr Spock raises an eyebrow)
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