Character Design: Spring-Heeled Jack

1702728 - Jordan Cordina

Brief two storyworld is available here.

Spring-Heeled Jack
Known as the terror of London, Spring-Heeled Jack is a cryptic figure that has been seen sporadically throughout the United Kingdom since 1837.

Appearance
Spring-Heeled Jack is a supernatural entity first encountered in Victorian London. Early accounts speak of a shadowy figure harassing the peoples of London - a humanoid being clad in darkness, ripping the clothing from its unfortunate victims with rake-like claws, with the ability to bound effortlessly between buildings and exhale blue flame. Of these early accounts many details were correct; Jack's palid grey skin is masked by black garbs and a chitinous mask-like structure affixed to where their face would be were they human, and their fingertips are topped with distended, hooked fingernails.

Jack's clothing has changed over the years, adapting to the fashion of the times. Now Jack wears a large black overcoat, dark trousers and a pair of black leather suit gloves, with holes in the tips for their claws. Jack also wears a black, wide-brimmed hat, which they angle downwards to hide their face and red eyes that flicker dimly like fading firelight. Though many have speculated that Jack is a male, Jack has always been unclear in their answer to this question.

Jack speaks with the accent and the grace of a member of a confident member of the upper-class, but their hunched and inward-facing posture suggest Jack's true feelings may not quite reflect the person they project themselves as.

Supernatural features
Across the United Kingdom, Spring-Heeled Jack was known most for their supernatural jumping abilities. With little to no effort Jack is capable of scaling a three-storey building in seconds in a single bound. Their other supernatural features are Jack's claws, capable of inflicting mortal wounds and gripping to rigid surfaces, and their chitinous facial structure, lending them sturdy (although fairly inconsequential) facial protection. Lastly, Jack's fluid movements across the urban jungle are so precise and flawlessly executed that it they are thought to be the inspiration of the very first free-runner.

Despite many historical claims of firebreathing, Jack denies this capability, citing an over-zealous publication on the southern coast as the source of "these outlandish claims", and that "firebreathing would only cheapen the act."

Personality
Whilst Spring-Heeled Jack used to be the envy of many UK Urban Legends, Jack has fallen from infamy over the last century. This has had a notable impact on their personality, leading Jack to be far less outgoing than they once were. Their hunched demeanour, whilst only mild is made noticeable due to Jack's towering height. Over the decades this feeling of disappointment in themselves slowly turned into self-doubt and a lack of self-worth. Though not particularly noticable, Jack self deprecates incredibly often and hides their true feelings behind humour or false smiles. When lying about their feelings, Jack tends to start shaking their legs - possibly as a minor distraction, or as comfort that harkens back to their days bounding across London's rooftops.

Despite this, Jack is proud of their historic achievements as a trickster. They'll often reminisce (perhaps a little too often) in their past achievements, and though Jack rarely talks themselves up, they do have many stories to share of their antics. Jack often replays these events in their head endlessly, building up an inflated view of what they used to be. This unhealthy cycle only leads to more self-doubt, sending Jack's mind all-to-often careening into darker places.

Jack's self-styled speciality is being a trickster at heart. Despite some dark missteps early in their career, which will be explored by the therapist, Jack's best known endeavours can be construed as practical jokes and trickery - much of which is only conducted to Jack's benefit with the targets of these activities often given quite a fright.

Amongst the newly exposed urban legend community, few had managed to rouse such attention themselves and go investigated for so long as Jack had. Many urban legends regard the tall terror with an air of respect - but only those that have been around long enough to remember Jack's exploits across London. As many Cryptids from those days have already faded into obscurity, Jack feels alienated by the younger generations making their marks in the world, leading to a somewhat founded loneliness. Though Jack denies it, the web articles of a well-spoken, serial prank caller in and around the Kensington borough suggest that this cryptid may well still be playing practical jokes on the people of London even in the Modern day.

At the Clinic
Unlike many other cryptids, Spring-Heeled Jack visits the Therapist of their own free-will as they have yet to be caught. Though Jack has never murdered anyone, Jack does have some issues to work through regarding some of their original appearances where clothing was often violently ripped from their victims before inflicting bodily harm. This has manifested itself as guilt, only further contributing to their Self-deprecating and self-doubt. Whilst initially quite open, Spring-Heeled Jack may begin to get quite cagey when confronted with this reality, which Jack should be lead to confront by the Therapist. Their ultimate reason to come to the clinic was out of loneliness. Jack also very clearly shows early signs of depression, with some dialogue options leading them to describing their condition: "For perhaps the last few decades, one could almost describe the feeling as stormclouds obscuring all I do, dulling colour and one's emotions. One used to feel such intense joy delighting in a prank being played. Now in its place, only grey haze remains.