You've probably heard of Spring-Heeled Jack, the white-oilskin wearing, madly laughing, blue-flame-spitting demon that terrorized Sheffield for the greater part of the 19th century. Did you know that he reportedly came to the US following his dissapearance there?
I've always kind of admired Jack's style. His preferred attack? The aristocratic bitchslap. And his preferred escape? Bounding from rooftop to rooftop. Man, if I could get away with that combo, I'd've left a trail of stinging red cheeks in my lifetime, lemme tell you..
Comments (1)
I love developments like this -- I wonder if the turn-of-the-century trans-atlantic phenomenon isn't an artifact of the waves of immigration to American shores during those years. (And the anxiety that produced in the already-entrenched culture.) Witness the "Jack the Ripper in America" tales. (That last link is to a book written by Robert Graysmith, a San Francisco Author who lives in my old neighborhood, the Inner Sunset.)
Posted by Bryce | September 28, 2002 6:47 PM
Posted on September 28, 2002 18:47