Spring-heeled Jack encounter? (or I've lost my mind)

This happened on October 31st just after midnight in Whitechapel, and I'm still not sure whether I experienced something genuinely paranormal or if I'm having a psychological episode. I'm posting anonymously for obvious reasons.

I was walking home from a pub around 12:30 AM (yes, alone, yes, I'd had a few drinks, but I was coherent enough to drive my mate home earlier so I wasn't blind drunk). I was on Osborn Street when I saw a figure moving between rooftops with impossible speed and height. We're talking 20+ foot jumps between buildings. The figure was impossibly tall and thin, and I swear I saw something that looked like clawed hands.

I stood frozen for maybe 10 seconds and then it was gone. I immediately called a taxi and got out of there. I didn't report it because who reports seeing Spring-heeled Jack? I'd be sectioned.

My rational brain says either: I hallucinated, I misidentified something mundane, or I witnessed something that has no explanation. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Has anyone witnessed genuinely inexplicable movement or proportions in a figure?

Spring-heeled Jack folklore is specific to Victorian London and had documented sightings in the 1830s-40s. The fact that you're describing something that matches Victorian reports almost exactly is either: a) coincidence, b) you absorbed the legend unconsciously and your brain created the experience, or c) something strange really does haunt Whitechapel.

Alcohol and Halloween and old folklore combine to create very compelling false memories. I'm not being dismissive, but 12:30 AM on Osborn Street after drinks is exactly the conditions where your brain would manufacture a convincing paranormal experience. That doesn't make it less real to you, but it does make it less likely to be objectively real.

Has anyone witnessed genuinely inexplicable movement or proportions in a figure?

Yes, actually. I saw something similar in Camden in 2015 that moved too fast and jumped too high to be human. Couldn't identify it. Didn't try to explain it either. Sometimes things happen that don't fit categories. Your experience is valid even if we can't explain it.

Whitechapel's got heavy history. Jack the Ripper, various crimes, centuries of dark stories. The psychic 'weight' of a location can create genuine experiences or amplify susceptibility to them. Don't discount it just because it sounds ridiculous. Some places are weirder than others, and Whitechapel is definitely one of them.

Look up 'pareidolia' and 'sleep paralysis' if you want the skeptical angle. Shadow people and tall figures in the dark are the most common paranormal misidentifications. Your brain is brilliant at filling in gaps and creating coherent narratives from fragmented sensory data, especially late at night, alcohol-impaired, on a loaded date like Halloween. Still, report it if it helps you feel better!

Genuinely interested in more details. What colour was the figure? Did it make any sound? Did you notice anything about the environment (temperature, smell, unusual sensations)? These details matter for ruling out misidentification. And don't be embarrassed - Whitechapel has genuinely eerie vibes and you're not the first person to experience something there.