The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack is a non-fiction book by Peter Haining, published by Frederick Muller in 1977.

[1] The book begins by examining some of the earliest sightings of Spring-heeled Jack, suggesting that there may have been numerous culprits, including Henry de La Poer Beresford, the 'Mad' Marquess of Waterford.

In later chapters it describes Spring-heeled Jack's transformation into a star of Victorian melodrama, before finally going on to explore some of the stranger theories about his identity, including the idea that he was a visitor from outer space.

As well as being a heavily fictionalised account of supposedly historical events, it asserts that 'Polly' was able to identify her attacker as a man she had seen earlier that evening; namely the Marquess of Waterford.

The third episode, once again seemingly made up by Haining, is the alleged murder of thirteen-year-old prostitute, 'Maria Davis', in Folly Ditch, Jacob's Island on 12 November 1845.