Thoughts & Things

Slippery Jack

I enjoy reading about odd things from history. It's a hobby I have always enjoyed, as there are a great many weird things that have happened over the years. After all, truth is stranger than fiction. I have been reading my way through the book 100 Fascinating Londoners (referring to citizens of London, Ontario, Canada, rather than London, England), and I came across a story I absolutely had to share.

In 1866, a mysterious person began breaking into houses on a regular basis. Although this person was breaking and entering, they did not steal anything from any of the homes they broke into. After going through many nicknames for this person, the press decided upon referring to them as "Slippery Jack." After several months of the crimes taking place, they stopped as suddenly as they started.

In 1867, an anonymous person claiming to be Slippery Jack made a claim in the Weekly Advertiser that he had made, and won, a wager of $500 (worth thousands of dollars in today's money) that he could break into sixty homes within the span of a year without anyone ever suspecting his true identity.

In 1888, another entry in the Weekly Advertiser, posted by an anonymous informant, revealed that Slippery Jack was, in fact, two different people. Bill Simmons and John Talbot Darnley Talbot-Crosbie would take turns breaking into the homes, that way each of them would have an alibi for at least some of the break ins. Neither man appears to have confirmed or denied these allegations.

This is honestly one of the best historical tales I have read in some time, and I absolutely had to share it. I actually have my eye on another book that mentions the same story. This has also given me some ideas for some historical fiction characters, because what better place to create fiction from than reality?

For those of you who are visual learners, or for those of you who might get some enjoyment out of a very Victorian villain, here is an image of a sketch of Slippery Jack:
https://woodlandcemeteryhistory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/screen-shot-2017-06-...