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Ever heard of Springheel Jack?

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Thank you....alchresearch....it mentions Attercliffe in the article but I couldn't find it in the A-Z :D

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Watched a programme early, really early, this morning....about myths and mysteries.

 

One of the stories was about Springheel Jack....a ghost like entity able to jump great distances in height and length.....

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack

 

This person/creature was supposed to have been seen in Sheffield as late as 1978.

 

Anyone know anything more?

 

I Watched This Too. Was Really Interesting-I'd Never Heard Of Him, But It'll Be Good To Find Out More.

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Thanks Akita...location already established at Attercliffe....the road they showed on the programme didn't lead me to believe it was Attercliffe or indeed the very short road that it now is....perhaps it used to be longer? :D

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Have just sent an e-mail to someone I think might know something about this.....and have sent him a link to this thread.

 

Now will Rony Robinson of BBC Radio Sheffield be able to enlighten me....I think he has posted on here in the past. :D

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There is a book called strange south yorkshire, myth and magic in the valley of the don by david clarke,

it goes on about all the mysterious goings on in s yorks including spring heeled jack, barghasts and boggards, the ghost tunnel, ghosts down the pits, etc..... a very interesting book published by sigma leisure.

 

Well would you believe it....for years - before I got the internet - I relied on books...and had I turned round and looked on my local history bookshelf I could have taken down the book mentioned above and found this information.....strange how I have so easily embraced this new technology when some information was so close to hand. :lol:

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I thought Spring Heeled Jack was a made up thing, like The Bogeyman, just to scare people.

 

The flats at Herdings were called The Three Sisters because there was.... erm.... 3 of them?!

 

The Drummer Boy is said to haunt the woods around Herdings and Hemsworth, I think he was with some kind of army regiment that camped in the area.

 

A Barghast is said to haunt the bottom of Buntings Nook/ Hemsworth Road. Was seen by a policeman in the 50's I think.

 

I have a book called The Ghost Hunters Guide To Sheffield by (Victoria) Salim, not certain on first name. Got it from one of the cheap bookshops in Meadowhall, a few years ago though.

I beleive the first name is correct, I used to work with her son and met her on a couple of occasions (she wrote a total of 3 books about ghosts in sheffield)

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So it says in my last linky that there were sightings in the 1970's and Springheel Jack was referred to as the Prowler of Westbury Street.

 

So where is Westbury Street?

 

Westbury Street is /was indeed in Attercliffe. I lived just one road away back in 1978! And although I love the thought of Springheel Jack jumping over the roof tops - I honestly can say, I never heard about it back then! I did however read about it on the net about a year ago and found it fascinating! I was 9 in 1978 and would imagine it would have been the talk of the neighbourhood if it had actually happened! :)

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Thanks Akita...location already established at Attercliffe....the road they showed on the programme didn't lead me to believe it was Attercliffe or indeed the very short road that it now is....perhaps it used to be longer? :D

 

Westbury Street DID exist before they knocked all the houses down in 1980/1981. Maybe that is why it can't be found now? :huh

 

Just had a look at the new map provided by alchresearch. Back in 1978 (before the houses went) you would have seen that Westbury Street ran from where it is listed now, right the way down, through what is now Stadium Way and linked onto Jessell Street (where I lived!) just before Cottingham Street.

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Footy Freak is right about the location of Westbury Street and also correct in her assertion that nothing exciting ever happened there. I know cos I lived there at the time.

 

If I said to Footie Freak that the prowler lived on Cottingham Street she would probably know who I mean. Can't name names, as he is alive and well to this day. He didn't jump buildings but he did bang on windows and had a fondness for knocking policemen's helmets off. How this turned into Spring Heeled Jack, God only knows.

 

The Spring Heeled Jack legend supposedly started as a prank by the then Marquis or Waterford, a sort of aristocratic Oliver Reed. From there a load of nonsense spang up, such as him jumping around Attercliffe in the seventies

 

 

I also know who the bloke who sat up looking for UFOs over Westbury Street was, and he was crackers as well.

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A Barghast is said to haunt the bottom of Buntings Nook/ Hemsworth Road. Was seen by a policeman in the 50's I think.

 

Does anybody know anything more about this?

 

My ex used to live around the corner and 100's and 100's of times i walked down Bunting Nook late at night and felt that something was there.I'm not a great believer in ghosts but a big fan of stories and horror so i'm not easily scared but i could always feel something strange and would love some more info.

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