Following the brief revival of interest in Spring-heeled Jack at the Aldershot and Colchester army bases in 1877 and 1878, the cultural dynamism that had powered his legend began to ebb, his grip on the popular imagination slackening. The 1880s seemed to mark an important transitional period in his decline as there was a noticeable dip in reported ‘real’ encounters in this decade compared with earlier years. This was recognised by contemporaries. In December 1887 the Liverpool Mercury reported on popular interest in a bright star seen in the south-eastern sky before dawn, noting, ‘Now that the “Spring-heel Jack” craze is dying out the “Star of Bethlehem” seems to be the craze of the hour.’

This ebbing was best reflected in ‘Spring-Heeled Jack’, a poem by St John Hammund that was published in The Idler in 1900. Whilst popular legends tend to be resistant to aging, this poem clearly portrayed Spring-heeled Jack as an elderly, fading figure in his twilight years. Dressed in a ‘long black coat’ and with eyes like ‘balls of fire’ he is described as being:

An accompanying illustration portrayed a slightly stooped old man with beard and earring, tattered clothes, a black domino mask across his eyes and a black hat upon his head.