Jack The Ripper - Part One

Just imagine. It's late 19th century London, an unpleasant enough time to be in anyway, but somewhere in the shadows a murderous stranger lurks. He could be any one of thousands of random strangers you see, the time and location completely random. 

So, who is Jack The Ripper?

Jack The Ripper is the most commonly known name given to London's infamous serial killer of the late nineteenth century. To this day his true identity is unknown and the subject of intense speculation. He is also thought to have been one of the first known serial killers.

In 1888 Jack is believed to be responsible for the slaughter of at least five prostitutes in Whitechapel, an area in the east end of London, although at one point as many as eleven were thought to be connected. 

All of the victims had their throats cut and abdomens mutilated, with three having internal organs removed. This gave rise to the popular theory that the killer had some surgical or anatomical knowledge. What is most frightening is the speed with which the killings were carried out. 

The subsequent police investigations were flawed, with little effort to preserve crime scenes. That may, in part, have helped the killer to elude capture. 

Rumors and speculation intensified in September and October of 1888, with letters allegedly being sent from the killer. 

The name 'Jack The Ripper' comes from one letter, which was sent to and investigated by a newspaper. That letter was later believed to be a hoax carried out by the newspaper in order to maintain interest in the case.

Another letter, known as "From Hell", was received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee and the letter came with half of a preserved human kidney, which was alleged to have been taken from one of the victims.

Jack The Ripper's notoriety comes from intense newspaper speculation from that time. The killer was never formally  identified and although there are five confirmed murders of prostitutes it was once believed that as many as eleven were connected. 

Mid 19th century Britain experienced an influx of immigrants, mainly from Ireland and in 1882 Jewish refugees from pogroms in Tsarist Russia and other areas of Eastern Europe emigrated into the same area.

London's Whitechapel suffered badly from overcrowding, along with a decline in work and housing standards. This created a significant economic underclass. The poverty led to a growth in robbery, violence and prostitution, along with a dependency on alcohol.

The economic problems caused social unrest and between 1886 and 1889 frequent demonstrations led to police intervention and public unrest. Anti-semitism, crime, nativism, racism, social disturbance, and severe deprivation influenced public perceptions that Whitechapel was a notorious den of immorality. Life wasn't much better for the residents, their lives being more of a subsistence. 

In 1888 a series of grisly murders sealed that perception, and a legend was born. One person who, to this day, conjoures up images of a nightmarish fiend that wreaks havoc in an already chaotic climate.