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Spring-heeled Jack on the Continent

  • 21/02/2023
  • 18:00-19:30
  • Online talk

Czech Pérák (Spring Man) graffiti; photo Petr Janeček

Spring-heeled Jack on the Continent

A Folklore Society online talk by Dr Petr Janeček (Charles University, Prague)

Tuesday 21 February 2023, 18:00 GMT

Spring-heeled Jack is one of the most peculiar demonic beings of British folklore. Since the beginning of the 20th century, legends about this mysterious urban phantom reached Continental Europe and adapted to local historical and cultural milieux. The talk will present these narratives that were popular in the 1910s Russia, 1940s Slovakia, and 1950s Germany, as well as discussing probably the most famous European version, Czech Pérák (Spring Man) of the Second World War who is often depicted in popular culture as nationalistic superhero battling the Nazis and their collaborators.

Dr. Petr Janeček works in Institute of Ethnology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University. He is the author of the Spring Man. Belief Legend between Folklore and Popular Culture (Lexington Books, 2022).

Tickets £6.00 (£4.00 for Folklore Society members with Promo Code)

Every ticket sold helps to support the work of The Folklore Society