Top 5 Horrific Jack the Ripper Facts

Top 5 Jack the Ripper Facts

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Gather round, amateur detectives and aspiring forensic pathologists. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Facts, and our special series about famous murderers. In this instalment, we're examining the myriad mysteries and inaccuracies which surround one of history's most well-known serial killers, Jack the Ripper to count down the most intriguing facts about the case. This was the name attributed by the media to an individual thought responsible for a string of murders within London's Whitechapel district between the summer and autumn months of 1888. The Ripper was never caught, and his identity remains unknown to this day.

Serial killers tend to fall into patterns. This was no different with The Ripper case back in the 19th Century. The five victims most often associated with Jack were all women in their 30s or 40s with a history of prostitution. These attacks were all violent, featuring slashed or slit throats and multiple puncture wounds along the pelvic area or abdomen, while organs such as the kidney or uterus were occasionally removed from the body. The Ripper also seemed to know the police schedule and his surroundings quite well, taking his victims in secluded areas primarily on weekends or bank holidays. This latter fact seems to infer that The Ripper probably had a job of his own and belonged to the lower middle class residents of Whitechapel proper.

#4: Many Anonymous Individuals Claimed to be Jack the Ripper

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"Ripperologists" is the term given to those who try to uncover the secrets behind the crimes of Jack the Ripper, but they're not the only ones who were obsessed with the case's gruesome details. There were actually over seven hundred pieces of mail sent to the media and police from those claiming to be "Jack the Ripper." In fact, the very name which we so closely associate with the crimes derives from one of these missives. The vast majority were dismissed as hoaxes, but there are two particularly interesting letters sent during this time. One is the "Dear Boss" letter, signed "Jack the Ripper." It warned that a victim's ears would be sliced off, a threat which attracted attention when a victim was found with an earlobe sliced off. Meanwhile, the "From Hell" letter does NOT use the "Ripper" moniker, and was delivered with half a kidney to George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. Which one, if any, are the real deal? Only The Ripper knows for sure.

#3: Some Blame Lewis Carroll

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If you haven't guessed by now, there is a lot of hearsay and theories about who was behind the Ripper killings of 1888. Seems like everyone living in or around Whitechapel or London without an alibi has been suspected. Case in point: English author Lewis Carroll… yes, he who created the legendary "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass." Carroll's accusation came from a 1996 book by Richard Wallace titled "Jack the Ripper, Light-Hearted Friend," which claimed that one could rearrange some of Carroll’s works into anagrams which described the author's involvement in the case. In reality, just about anything can be turned into an anagram, and so most Ripperologists place Lewis Carroll at the very bottom of possible Ripper suspects. It’s basically jabberwocky.

#2: The Doctor Didn't Do It

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"From Hell" was a popular Alan Moore graphic noveland subsequent Hughes Brothers film based on the Ripper Murders. The main source material behind this fictionalized account of The Ripper is the 1976 book published by Stephen Knight titled "Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution." Knight's theory places Queen Victoria's physician Dr. William Gull at the center of a conspiracy which involves British Aristocracy, and The Freemasons in a story which, however fantastic, has multiple holes in it. Not the least of which is the fact that Dr. Gull was 71 and recovering from a stroke at the time of the murders. As early as 1895, newspapers were linking him to the murders. This speculation should come as no surprise, however, as it was these same newspapers which perpetuated the image so many of us associate today with Jack the Ripper, that of a well dressed gentleman in a top hat and cloak.Most Ripperologists on the other hand agree he was more likely a low income, working class individual.

#1: History's Classic Cold Case Might Warm Up

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The idea new evidence emerging in a hundred-plus year-old case may seem unlikely, but this was exactly what happened in 1993 when a police letter dated from 1913 was put up for sale in a British antique store. This message from a Detective John Littlechildplaced as a suspect one Francis Tumblety,a noted quack and charlatan with a history of misogyny and criminal behavior. Modern census information also happens to place him in the Whitechapel area during the murder spree, while his profession could tie into the surgical angle of the Ripper's organ removal. Although many important legal documents were lost when Germany blitzed Britain with bombing attacks during World War II, the discovery of the The Littlechild Letter, along with the fact that a lot of data from the period is now available digitally, provides hope that the mystery of Jack the Ripper may be solved for once and for all. So, do you think you know who slashed their way through the nightmares of Britain's East End and into the history books? For more Freemason conspiracy top tens and organs-in-jars top fives, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com!