Jack the Ripper - Page 3

The Letters

The name 'Jack the Ripper' came in a letter dated 25th September 1888 sent to the Central News Agency who gave it to the police. It said:

Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck.

Yours truly
Jack the Ripper

Dont mind me giving the trade name

PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha

After this a postcard was received, perhaps written by the same person received on 1st October 1888, again at the Central News Agency. Then what became known as the 'From Hell' letter was received by George Lusk, the president of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. It came with a box containing half a human kidney. The letter said:

From hell.
Mr Lusk,
Sor
I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman and prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer

signed
Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk

Were any of these letters from the real Jack the Ripper? It's impossible to know with any certainty. Even the half a kidney doesn't prove anything even though Catherine Eddowes had been murdered on 30th September 1888 and her kidney and uterus removed.

There were hundreds of letters sent during the investigation purporting to be from the Ripper. It is generally believed by the experts that most, if not all of them, were hoaxes. The two quoted above and the postcard are the only ones that might be genuine, again according to experts.

Conclusion
Although these were dreadful savage murders, they weren't unique in Victorian London so why did they become so notorious? Perhaps it was the location in Whitechapel, right on the edge of the affluent City of London. The letters, sent to the Central News Agency, also probably helped to fuel the story in the newspapers, promoting a sense of panic. The theory that Jack might be a 'gentleman', rather than an inhabitant of the slums, was also a contributing factor.

Probably the Jack the Ripper murders will continue to fuel speculation and new theories but it seems unlikely that the true identity of Jack the Ripper will ever be discovered.

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