Spring-heeled Jack is a Victorian-era legend that began near London with a cluster of strange attacks and sightings. In 1837 a woman by the name of Mary Stevens told local police that a tall figure leapt out and attacked her on Clapham Common, this was quickly followed by similar and increasingly sensational reports.
Other victims alleged that the attacker was a tall, thin man with red eyes and superhuman agility, some even suggested that he had iron claws and could shoot blue fire from his mouth. These claims were reported in contemporary newspapers and the assailant was given the nickname 'Spring-heeled Jack'. The stories of Jack's misdeeds terrified Victorian Londoners, in the first episode of Midnite Tales I investigate this strange phenomenon.