Encounter Atlas
Spring-heeled Jack was a figure of Victorian panic: a tall, thin man in a black cloak with clawed hands and glowing red eyes, who could leap over walls and hedges in a single bound and breathed out blue and white flames.
Reports began in London in 1837. In January 1838 the Lord Mayor of London read out a letter about the attacks at a public session. On 19 February 1838, 18-year-old Jane Alsop answered her door to a man who said he was a policeman, then threw off his cloak, spat flames in her face and tore at her with claws. Lucy Scales reported a similar attack days later.
Sightings went on for decades, including sentries at Aldershot army camp in 1877, until the last widely reported appearance in Liverpool in 1904. He became a star of penny dreadful comics.
What witnesses report
- Enormous leaps over walls and rooftops
- Blue or white flames from the mouth
- Clawed hands and glowing eyes
- A cloak and tight-fitting oilskin suit
Famous cases
- 1837First reported attacks
Barnes and Battersea, London - 1838Jane Alsop attack
Bow, London - 1904Liverpool sightings
Everton, Liverpool
Seen the Spring-heeled Jack?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
