Video: Jack the Jumper: the 19th century nightmare that became the first comic book superhero
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The worst horror story in Victorian England was a fire-breathing devil who jumped unnaturally high and attacked passers-by. Some said that he was a demon, while others believed that he was just an unusually mobile person "with springs on his heels." Anyway, Spring-Heeled Jack was an urban legend embodied in the nightly fears of the British, and his adventures were reflected in the comics that made him insanely famous.
Jack first appeared in 1837, the first year of Queen Victoria's reign. Residents of the outskirts of London began to report attacks by an unknown "ghost or devil". Basically, the monster attacked women. He waited in ambush and jumped out on the passing victims. The villain slapped them in the face, scratched with his sharp claws, tore at their clothes, inflicting deep wounds.
The victims described Jack as a strong, tall man with "devilish" pointed features, pointed ears and glowing red eyes. He spewed fire from his mouth, stunning the victims. Some of them have never been able to recover their mental health.
The Jumping Jack knocked on the doors of the Londoners and waited for him to open. If the victim started screaming, help would usually come and the villain would hide. It was not difficult for Jack to jump onto the roof of the house. He moved in large leaps, up to nine meters, and it seemed that he could fly. The footprints of Jack the Jumper, found by the London police, had an unusual shape. It was decided that he had springs in his feet.
Jack the Jumper made his insane attacks from 1837 to 1904 in London, in central and northern England, and even in Scotland. He attacked people both at night and during the day, not embarrassed by the crowd and the police. Jack was repeatedly shot at, but the bullets fired did no harm. In 1877, the mischievous devil even carried out a series of attacks on the military camp at Aldershot, where he frightened the armed soldiers.
Officials of the Kingdom stated that a company of young idle aristocrats was behind Jack the Jumper, but it was not possible to find out their identities reliably.
After Jack the Jumper became the main horror story in England, he was suddenly overtaken by frenzied popularity. He was painted on the covers of cheap comics, portraying a robber and a supernatural threat to the entire nation. Parents told their children stories about the adventures of the villain in order to scare the spoiled children. The mysterious unsolved crimes of the "night demon" provided a lot of sensational material for the work of reporters.
The legend of Jack the Jumper still survives in comics and theatrical productions. The ominous setting of the Victorian era became a good training ground for horror stories. And Jack himself is considered the first "evil" main character in comics.
Jack the Jumper and Jack the Ripper appeared in the darkest city in Europe, the night atmosphere of which can be felt by seeing mesmerizing archival photos.
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