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Devils Footprints!


Wolfpower

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Haha! Hey everyone! I'm back with another idiotic Q! But this one caught my attention a bit more! I bet you guys will right away explain it to me, but then I am not that smart yet!

So On the night of 8–9 February, 1855, and one or two later nights, after a light snowfall, a series of hoof-like marks appeared in the snow. These footprints, measuring 1.5 to 2.5 inches wide and eight inches apart, continued throughout the countryside for a total of over 100 miles, and, although veering at various points, for the greater part of their course followed straight lines.

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Edited by Saru
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ahhh I remember this story but someone said it was on the East Coast USA :S. I think it came to conclusion either a prank or deer.

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haha!! well apparently still unsolved O.o

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Sounds a little like Spring-heeled Jack. Lots of info on the web about it and several variations on the story. Here's one description:

The Legend:

Reports of a unknown leaping figure began in south-west London in 1837; the descriptions of the strange character ranged from a monster with wings and horns, to a powerfully built man in a shiny suit with helmet and cloak, spitting fire. "Devil-like" was the only description given of the strange figure that escaped with incredible leaps and bounds after attacking Polly Adams, a farmer's daughter who worked in a south London Pub; the same description was given of the assailant of another woman in Clapham churchyard. But it wasn't until a year later, in 1838, that the rumors were terrifyingly confirmed.

In January 1838, the Lord Mayor, Sir John Cowan, drew public attention to a letter he had recieved from a resident of Peckham giving details of an attack by the so-called "Spring-Heeled Jack". This public acceptance of the rumors by the Lord Mayor immediately led to a flood of letters from individuals who had been too frightened and embarrassed to report their own encounters previously.

A few weeks later, on a February night, young and pretty Jane Alsop, who lived with her father and two sisters, answered a violent knocking at her front door. There was a man in the shadows by the front gate who identified himself as a police officer, and asked her to bring a light... he claimed to have captured the infamous "Spring-Heeled Jack"! Excited, Jane fetched a candle and hurried it out to the gate.

As she handed it to the man, he grabbed her neck and pinned her head under his arm, then began to rip up her dress and body. Screaming, she freed herself and ran only to be caught again; holding her by the hair, the wildman clawed at her face and neck. One of Jane's sisters, hearing the struggle, ran into the street and called for help; but before anyone could stop him, Spring-Heeled Jack leapt away into the shadows.

Jane Alsop later described her attacker as wearing a helmet and a tight-fitting white costume, "like an oilskin," under a black cloak. His face was hideous, with eyes like balls of fire; he had claws on his fingers, and vomited blue and white flames.

Jane was not the only victim. Lucy Scales (or Squires) was 18 years old when she met Jack, only a few months after Jane. Jane and her sister had just left the house of their brother, a butcher, to walk home. As they entered Green Dragon Alley in Limehouse, an empty street, a tall, cloaked figure leaped from the shadows and belched blue flames into Lucy's face, blinding her.

Sometime after the attack on Lucy Scales, a strange figure was seen scaling the spire of a London church, leaping away into the darkness after a short time. Rumors spread of the same unknown entity being seen on the Tower of London.

Spring-Heeled Jack was sighted all over England through the 1850's and 1860's (especially in the Midlands). In the 1860's, according to one report, the villain had been cornered by a mob only to escape by jumping a hedge. Parents kept their children off the streets for fear of the bouncing terror.

In the 1870's, army authorities set traps for him after he slapped sentries with his icy hands and jumped atop their guard boxes. One night in 1877, angry townspeople tried to shoot him, to no avail. The last time Jack was definitely seen was in Liverpool in September 1904, where he was jumping from street to rooftops and back again... and/or just jumping over a building in William Henry Street. When some brave citizens tried to corner him, he simply leaped away into the darkness. Some say that sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack continued until after World War II, but these are unconfirmable.

springheeled-jack-196x300.jpg

Edited by linttrap
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I remember reading this story in a book a few years ago and it creeped me out loads. It did say it was in Devon, England nowhere in the USA. I've never thought what it could be, I don't necessairily believe the story but it was a good story and I don't want that to be spoilt :lol: . I've heard that deer can jump fair high though, so that IS a possibility.

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Not the same as spring heeled Jack... But there is a devil story out of Chicago. There's a dancehall, I think Kaiser but I may be mistaken..

Anywho, gal was dancing with a hot guy one night, and then started screaming. Other gents came to her aid and cornered the guy by a window. Guy jumped out the window and ran off. When the gents finally got downstairs in pursuit of the guy, all they found was a pair of hoofprints imprinted in the cement of the sidewalk. When the gents asked the gal why she screamed she told them she looked down and the guy had hoofs instead of feet!!

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Not the same as spring heeled Jack... But there is a devil story out of Chicago. There's a dancehall, I think Kaiser but I may be mistaken..

Anywho, gal was dancing with a hot guy one night, and then started screaming. Other gents came to her aid and cornered the guy by a window. Guy jumped out the window and ran off. When the gents finally got downstairs in pursuit of the guy, all they found was a pair of hoofprints imprinted in the cement of the sidewalk. When the gents asked the gal why she screamed she told them she looked down and the guy had hoofs instead of feet!!

I guess you could say he was a pretty bad dancer B)

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  • 7 months later...

spring heeled jack is like a really wierd nghost batman

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Have heard about this when i was younger.

Nice to read it again.

Probs a deer to me anyway.

Thanks for sharing,

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  • 2 weeks later...

ahhh I remember this story but someone said it was on the East Coast USA :S. I think it came to conclusion either a prank or deer.

Yea, I've heard it before too. Couldn't have been deer though because the footprints were in a straight line, and were even found over rooftops and the sides of walls. Deer can't walk straight up a wall and on to a roof and straight off XP

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This story was in a book of scary stories I read as a child .

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This legend always intrigued me. It's very interesting.

I want to say this is a prank someone did, but for 100 miles? I'd think you'd get tired or bored easily. Or you just have too much time on your hands.

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Or you just have too much time on your hands.

You'd seriously be surprised at what some of these no-lifers will do just for a prank...

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Reported in the local newspapers of 1855, which commonly published outright hoaxes and added falsities to actual events, to boost circulation.

This was probably a hoax, or something overheard in a bar or on the street by a reporter that was meant as a joke or gossip.

Readers today think that the newspapers of the 19th century abided by the same standards of today's newspapers. Not so.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) admitted later in life that he'd written more than a few "whoppers" as a reporter in Nevada and California, or embellished local news, to entertain readers and increase circulation. Editors and owners would expect this sort of thing.

This is precisely WHY old newspapers and accounts are among the poorest sources.

I've read newspapers as old as 1876, and it's amazing what goes into them.

I have a 1903 copy of an American newspaper that reports on the Army's new 1903 Springfield rifle and .30-caliber cartridge. It boasts how it will outrange the German Mauser by manyfold, and its cartridge (.30-caliber, 220 gr. bullet) can penetrate over 40 men in a line. Nonsense. It might penetrate 3 or 4 bodies at point-blank range, but not over 40.

And in truth, the .30-03 cartridge of that time had a lesser range than the German Mauser 7.9mm cartridge.

It's all propaganda.

I've never believed in the Devil's Footprints reports of 1855, because I'm well aware of the state of journalism at that time. If you think today's journalism is bad -- and it is -- it was far, far worse in the 19th century when it was absolutely unquestioned and most readers had little more than a rudimentary education, if any education at all.

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I remember reading about this as I live the next county over. I think the people of Devon were fed up of living next to Cornwall, with its sexy stories of pirates and shipwrecks and such, they wanted to compete!

Isn't there another part to this story showing a stain on a wall where a priest threw his drink/ink well at the devil's shadow or something the same night?

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Reported in the local newspapers of 1855, which commonly published outright hoaxes and added falsities to actual events, to boost circulation.

This was probably a hoax, or something overheard in a bar or on the street by a reporter that was meant as a joke or gossip.

Readers today think that the newspapers of the 19th century abided by the same standards of today's newspapers. Not so.

Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) admitted later in life that he'd written more than a few "whoppers" as a reporter in Nevada and California, or embellished local news, to entertain readers and increase circulation. Editors and owners would expect this sort of thing.

This is precisely WHY old newspapers and accounts are among the poorest sources.

I've read newspapers as old as 1876, and it's amazing what goes into them.

I have a 1903 copy of an American newspaper that reports on the Army's new 1903 Springfield rifle and .30-caliber cartridge. It boasts how it will outrange the German Mauser by manyfold, and its cartridge (.30-caliber, 220 gr. bullet) can penetrate over 40 men in a line. Nonsense. It might penetrate 3 or 4 bodies at point-blank range, but not over 40.

And in truth, the .30-03 cartridge of that time had a lesser range than the German Mauser 7.9mm cartridge.

It's all propaganda.

I've never believed in the Devil's Footprints reports of 1855, because I'm well aware of the state of journalism at that time. If you think today's journalism is bad -- and it is -- it was far, far worse in the 19th century when it was absolutely unquestioned and most readers had little more than a rudimentary education, if any education at all.

Aaaah, I see.

Probably a hoax then. Might go hunting on Google to see if there's any reports of Devil's Footprints in today's time.

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people might wanna grab some pith forks and guns for protection. :tu:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Best and most plausible explanation I've heard for it was mice, hopping through the snow. The hoofprint itself being both the front and hind feet. Far as I recall, the prints would stop at the side of a building and continue onto the roof. Since mice are excellent climbers this makes sense. Also the prints would wander off into a field only to disappear, perhaps as the mouse was snatched up by an owl. If the snow was too fine, then rodents would not be able to tunnel through it, thus neccessitating movement "overground". What intrigues me, therefore, is why there would be such frenzied activity? Perhaps the winter was so harsh that it was a desperate attempt to forage?

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The Devil's Footprints is easily one of my favourite local legends.It's so creepy. The footprints were hooved and the trail would go up to each door of every house on its journey. The trail went on for miles and miles - an incredible feat in such a short time (especially during the early hours of the morning at winter!) so it mustve been traveleing at some speed. Apparently, the footprint trail went on to some roofs as well, underneath a very low hedge and, strangest of all, a huge wall - which looked as if whateveritwas just leapt clean over it. It's been reported since then - a few years ago was the latest. Very creepy.

Devon is home to so many incredibly creepy tales. The most terrifying is probably the Wistman's Woods, which is said to be the home of The Devil, HellHounds and druid sacrifices. There's a great blog about it here - http://www.cult-labs.com/blog/2012/09/16/a-night-in-the-woods-the-legend-of-the-woods/

Black_Shuck_Commission_by_KivuliMwitu-1024x568.jpg

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I remember this from when I was a kid! I think this is one of the first legends I heard of that got me interested in spooky tales.

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Yes,this was said to happen in Devon,England. Also, in a book on San Antonio,Texas ghosts by Docia Williams, there was a similar story about a man with cloven hooves for feet.I can't recall the name of the dance hall, but it was on the west side of town.Same story .Girl and friends go to dancehall,man asks girl to dance.While dancing she looks down and sees he has hooves for feet,and screams, and the man-devil escapes.

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