Acknowledgments Introduction The Unsolved Mystery PART ONE THE LEGEND Chapter 1 The Birth of a Legend Chapter 2 The Legend Spreads Chapter 3 Jack Takes a Holiday PART TWO THE MYTH Chapter 4 The Urban Ghost Chapter 5 Roots in Myth and Folklore Chapter 6 Who Was Jack? Chapter 7 Jack’s Back Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Appearances Appendix Spring-Heeled Jack--The Terror of London Appendix 2 Principal Sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack Notes Bibliography Index
John Matthews has made a lifetime study of the legends of King Arthur, the Celtic traditions, and more recently, the history of pirates. He is the author of more than 100 books, including Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman, The Grail: Quest for Eternal Life, The Wildwood Tarot, the award-winning Arthur of Albion, and the New York Times bestseller Pirates. He has acted as an advisor on several big budget movies, including King Arthur, and is the recipient of several awards including a Benjamin Franklin Award, a NAPPA Gold Medal, and a BIB Golden Apple. He lives in Oxford, England.
“Probably no one in the world but John Matthews could have written
this book. His scholarship is, as always, of the highest order yet
joined to a deep love of stories. His unwillingness to make
artificial separations between traditional folklore and popular
culture allows Spring-Heeled Jack to come vigorously to life.”
*Rachel Pollack, author of The Child Eater*
“John Matthews intrigues, disturbs, and delights us with his
detailed account of the legendary Spring-Heeled Jack who, whether
real or not, terrified victims amid the shadows of Victorian London
and beyond. Leaping into the fears of the unwary, such figures
persist in the modern imagination, and Matthews gives us much to
chew on with regard to our fascination with untamed, semi-animal,
evil in superhuman guise. Victorian supernaturalism, ghost stories,
Jack the Ripper, the Green Man, demonic lore, and much else
illuminate the shifting image of ‘Jack’ in Matthews’s crepuscular
romp through the ginnels and repressions of fervid times, where
unearthly clawing and ripping threatens to confront us with the
archetypal fiend.”
*Tobias Churton, author of Aleister Crowley: The Beast in
Berlin*
“Thoroughly researched, John Matthews’s writing is effortlessly
accessible for both newcomers and those familiar with London’s
original bogeyman. This book could and should become one of the
definitive texts about Spring-Heeled Jack in the years to
come.”
*Jack Bowman, cowriter of The Springheel Saga audio dramas*
“For a fascinating guide to the history and mystery of England’s
most famous phantom attacker, look no further than John Matthews’s
remarkable book.”
*Robert Valentine, cowriter of The Springheel Saga audio
dramas*
“This detailed and comprehensive account of--and inquiry into--the
unsolved mystery of Spring-Heeled Jack is scholarly, highly
entertaining, and deeply impressive. It’s easily the best study
available.”
*Mark Hodder, author of The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack*
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