The Springheel Saga is a drama audio series about the Victorian bogeyman, Spring-heeled Jack, written by Jack Bowman and Robert Valentine, and produced by The Wireless Theatre Company.The Strange Case of Springheel'd Jack – A Three Part Audio Drama. Geek Syndicate. The first series, The Strange Case of Springheel'd Jack, released in 2011 and starring Julian Glover, is based on the original 1837–38 Spring-heeled Jack sightings.The Strange Case of Springheel’d Jack Interview by Paul Skevington, The British Science Fiction Association, 24 October 2011. Nicholas Parsons features in the second series, The Legend of Springheel'd Jack, which was released in 2013 and focuses on Spring-heeled Jack's absorption into popular culture in the 1840s.Q&A With The Springheel Saga Creators Robert Valentine and Jack Bowman. Frost Magazine. The third and final series, The Secret of Springheel'd Jack, released over 2015 and 2016, features Jenny Runacre and Matthew Kelly, and deals with the 1877 Aldershot barracks incident.AUDIO – THE SECRET OF SPRINGHEEL'D JACK: THE PERIL OF THE EMPIRES /Garbage-file.com. The production was Wireless Theatre's first audio series, and is distributed as a digital download in MP3 format.Wireless Theatre Company – Frequently Asked Questions
Plot
Series One: The Strange Case of Springheel'd Jack
Episode 1: The Ghost of Clapham Common London, 1837. Metropolitan Police Constable Jonah Smith and his chirpy sidekick, Toby Hooks, are called to Clapham churchyard to investigate an attack on a young woman, Polly Adams, who insists her assailant was the devil. Although other attacks have been reported – and despite seeing a similar figure as a child on the night his parents died – Smith remains skeptical. However, Hooks then shows Smith something he's kept from public view: a large, strangely-shaped footprint at the base of the high church wall. Meanwhile, at Dover, vicious cockney killers Chough and D'Urberville are performing their own parallel investigation into the whereabouts of Charlotte Fitzrandolph, who is returning to England from Europe, and has with her a family heirloom, the Burning Truth: a pendant with seemingly supernatural properties. The two assassins torture a shipping clerk to find out where she's headed, and duly head for London. Smith's inquiries soon bring him to the attention of Lord Wayland, a powerful Tory landowner, who is keen for Springheel Jack to be caught before his reign of terror gets out of hand. Now single-handedly responsible for catching the fiend, Smith and Hooks investigate Clapham Common, the apparent epicentre of the attacks. Chough and D'Urberville also head for the common following a tip-off, and mistakenly apprehend another young woman, Mary Stevens. Responding to Mary's screams, Smith races to her rescue. While Smith faces off against the two villains, Mary escapes and runs straight into the monstrous Springheel Jack. Meanwhile, Smith quickly succumbs to D'Urberville's deadly garrotte...
Episode 2: The Crypt of Evil Having survived the attack on the common, Smith and Hooks make a connection between the recent sightings and the nearby Morgan Arms pub. Meanwhile, at a lavish masquerade ball, Lord Wayland entertains the Duke of Wellington and other guests – including the Marquis of Waterford – before excusing himself to hold a secret meeting... with Chough and D'Urberville. Wayland has hired the two thugs to find Charlotte, and despite their failure he is confident that she will seek him out. As storm-clouds gather, Charlotte is allowing the mysterious power of the Burning Truth to guide her. Springheel Jack, attracted by the mystical pendant, attacks the carriage in which she is travelling but Charlotte fends him off. The carriage crashes, and Charlotte continues her journey on foot. Smith visits the Morgan Arms, and learns from the landlord, Burden, and barfly Tom Millbank, that the Duke of Wellington is to lead a hunt for Springheel Jack. Then he and Hooks hot-foot it to the scene of the crash and learn from the concussed coachman that his lady passenger was heading to Scratch Row – the location of the fire in which Smith's parents died. Smith and Hooks catch up with Charlotte in a deserted church just in time to save her from Chough and D'Urberville. After knocking out the villains, the three heroes find a secret passage and discover a Black Mass in progress. The high priest is none other than Lord Wayland himself, and his ritual incantation causes the Burning Truth to emit an otherworldly noise, alerting the devil-worshipers to their presence. As a heavy stone door cuts off their escape, it looks like Smith is about to be crushed...
Episode 3: The Face of the Fiend Smith, Hooks and Charlotte flee to the bell-tower with the Satanists in pursuit. Trapped in the belfry, Springheel Jack suddenly appears. The Satanists cower while our heroes escape across the rooftops. However, Hooks falls to his death, forcing Smith to give up the chase. An injured Jack meanwhile recovers in a side street, startling Lucy Scales who passes by his hiding place in Green Dragon Alley... Smith goes to the Chief Constable to tell him all he knows, but the Chief informs him that Thomas Millbank has been arrested in connection with the latest attack on Jane Alsop, and the case is going to trial. Knowing that the real Springheel Jack is still out there, Smith and Charlotte return to the Morgan Arms to find out from Mr. Burden how Millbank came under suspicion. The culprits – Chough and D'Urberville – duly arrive and Smith stalls them while Charlotte escapes. Knocked unconscious and stuffed in a carriage, Smith is delivered to Lord Wayland at his riverside mansion, with Charlotte and the Burning Truth following at a discreet distance. Smith is welcomed by Wayland, who believes that Springheel Jack is Lucifer himself. All Wayland now needs to meet his master face-to-face is the Burning Truth, and he suspends Smith above a vat of boiling oil in order to force its whereabouts out of him. Charlotte comes to Smith's rescue, and duly summons Springheel Jack with the pendant. After a tense confrontation between Wayland and Springheel Jack, Charlotte and Smith swing through the window and land in the Thames just as a desperate Wayland ignites the vat of oil and perishes in the fireball. Racing to Lambeth Street Court, Smith and Charlotte arrive too late to affect the trial. However, Millbank has been cleared anyway due to his inability to breathe the blue flame. With the case officially closed, Charlotte returns to Europe and Smith is promoted on condition he keeps his mouth shut. But Smith's obsession to capture Springheel Jack has only just begun...
Series Two: The Legend of Springheel'd Jack
Episode 1: The Terror of London Famed penny dreadful writer James Malcolm Rymer tells his 'one true story' which took place in 1845 when he was a struggling newspaper hack. His tale commences on Jacob's Island, Bermondsey, where a 13-year-old pickpocket, Maria Davis, is pursued by a spring-booted, fire-breathing maniac, and killed with a burst of flame. Inspector Garrick and Sergeant Skeres are already on the scene when Detective Inspector Jonah Smith arrives, tipped off at the alleged sighting of 'Springheel Jack'. Satisfied that the killer is an impostor, Smith makes his exit, bumping into the young Rymer who is there in his capacity as a freelance reporter. Despite Rymer's eagerness, Smith brushes him off and heads home. Frustrated by yet another dead end, the now heavy-drinking Smith is surprised by an unexpected visitor – Charlotte Fitzrandolph! Despite resenting her lack of contact over the past seven years, Smith is won over by her new lead on Springheel Jack. There seems to be a connection between authentic Springheel Jack sightings and the tour dates of a travelling theatre company known as the Harlequin Players. Smith agrees to meet Charlotte that night at a nearby penny gaff at the Fighting Cocks Inn where the Harlequin Players are due to perform.
That night, Smith senses Springheel Jack's presence and momentarily sees him atop a roof. With his hope rekindled, Smith becomes aware of footsteps following him and ambushes his stalker – Rymer! Despite Smith's initial misgivings, Rymer convinces him to let him tag along. They arrive at the penny gaff but Charlotte is nowhere to be seen. The Harlequin Player's master of ceremonies, Oscar Snitterfield, introduces the Punch and Judy show (in which the character of the Devil is now substituted with 'Springheel Jack') and afterwards they get chatting to the Punch and Judy Man himself, 'Professor' Elijah Hopcraft. The following magic act consists of doddery magician Cuthbert Leach, aka 'The Great Majesto' and his 'lovely assistant', the pugnacious Lizzie Coombe. When Lizzie's charms indirectly trigger a pub brawl, Smith makes himself scarce and goes in search of Charlotte. While a performance of The Murder in the Red Barn distracts the other patrons, Charlotte warns Smith that she has made a terrible mistake by confiding in a mysterious man she met in Paris. About to reveal his name, Charlotte is felled by a single gunshot. She survives just long enough to give Smith a cryptic clue to the mystery, then dies in his arms. Found over the body, the pub's denizens mistake Smith for the killer and chase him into the night...
Episode 2: The Carnival of Horrors With Smith on the run, Garrick and Skeres are given the job of tracking him down. Smith, it transpires, has been secretly taken in by Lizzie and hidden from the other members of the theatre troupe at Bartholomew Fair. In exchange for her help in clearing his name, Lizzie wants Smith to help her find Springheel Jack, whom she blames for the death of Maria Davis. Maria was a member of the infamous pickpocketing gang, Dreadful Penny's Mob, and Lizzie reveals to Smith that she is the infamous Dreadful Penny herself. Smith agrees to join forces but first resolves to attend Charlotte's funeral, albeit in disguise.
Watching the funeral from a distance, Smith is surprised to find Hopcraft also present. Hopcraft admits that he's the man that Charlotte met in Paris and goes on to reveal that he, like Smith, also lost his parents in the Scratch Row fire and saw Springheel Jack rise from the flames. Hopcraft divulges to Smith that there were in fact two artifacts associated with the inferno at Scratch Row; the pendant known as the Burning Truth and a mysterious box about which much less is known. Hopcraft explains that while Springheel Jack has regained possession of the Burning Truth, he is still searching for his box... which is currently in the possession of Cuthbert. Hopcraft and Smith take seats in the audience of the magic act to observe the so-called 'Box of Emet' up close, when Smith accuses Hopcraft of killing Charlotte. Hopcraft brushes her murder aside and urges Smith to join forces with him. Smith refuses, and finding himself trapped between the police and the killer, Smith does the only thing he can think of: he volunteers to help Cuthbert in his next trick! Smith takes to the stage and allows Cuthbert to guide him through the magic act. When it comes to placing his hand on the Box of Emet, Smith experiences a rush of memories and psychic insights. Suddenly the fire-breathing, spring-booted Copycat Jack appears and tries to take the box. Before it can get close, the real Springheel Jack leaps into the scene and the two Jacks face off against each other. Hopcraft flees, Smith escapes and both Jacks leap away into the night, hunted by police and angry mobs.