Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper

A page from The Penny Illustrated Paper -- The discovery of Mary Ann Nichols, the first canonical Jack the Ripper victim.
Front page after the murder of the first canonical victim, Mary Ann Nichols. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Interest in the Jack the Ripper murders never seems to fade, yet these terrible crimes took place over 135 years ago. In short, in the second half of 1888, five, possibly six, women were murdered by the man known to us as Jack the Ripper. There were five canonical victims — Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. Another woman named Martha Tabram is thought by some to be the first victim.

But who was this serial killer, what was his motive and why did he suddenly end his killing spree after a few months? Did he die or leave the country? Even now, people are using the latest forensic techniques to glean what they can from what evidence remains. However, definitive answers to these questions will never be found, in spite of efforts to discover the Whitechapel murderer’s identity. And herein lies much of the appeal, I suppose — the dark, unsolved mystery.

These days it’s almost as if the events are fictional. The time of the murders is sufficiently far removed from us that we can indulge ourselves by creating stories and carrying out investigations for entertainment, albeit of a rather macabre variety.  But the actual details of the crimes are truly gruesome. The Victorian era has always been fascinating to me, and I am at times guilty  of having a romanticised notion of it. But the Ripper murders are among the worst events in its, let’s face it, somewhat chequered history.

For those interested in knowing more, there are many books, films, TV series and documentaries on the subject of Jack the Ripper and his grisly crimes and I’ve contributed a flash fiction piece of my own. See below for links.

 

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