10 Things You Didn't Know About Jeepers Creepers

10. There Are Different Theories As To What Inspired The Character Of The Creeper

Victor Salva has always said the Creeper legend is complete fiction, but there are two theories of where his inspiration came from.

The opening scene of the movie has been compared to the case of Dennis DePue, a former Michigan Property Assessor who murdered his ex-wife Marilynn in 1990 by throwing her down the stairs and then shooting her when their children didn't want to come with him on his visitation day.

A couple witnessed his truck speeding past them and noticed his licence plate. Further down the road they saw the truck parked outside an abandoned school with Dennis next to it, covered in blood. They reported the truck subsequently following them until they turned down a side road and escaped him. Returning to the abandoned school, they found a blood-stained shirt and police later found Marilynn's hidden body.

The appearance of the Creeper himself is said to have been inspired by 'Spring-heeled Jack', a creature of Victorian England folklore in the 1800s. The urban legend described him as a tall skinny figure dressed in a black cloak, with clawed hands and red eyes. Witnesses claimed he had the ability to leap fantastic distances in the same way as the Creeper does, with some reporting to have seen him jump over houses.