History of Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper is the most well known and notorious serial killer in history. The identity of Jack the Ripper is still unknown today and the murders unsolved. He has become the most infamous in the annals of murder. It was during 1888 and 1891 when the ripper murdered many women in areas in and around the East End of London in 1888. The name ‘Jack the Ripper’ caught on when a letter (believe to be a hoax) was posted to the central news agency and signed by this name. They forwarded this letter to the Metropolitan Police.

The amount of women he killed is uncertain but there are eighteen women murders around that time which to this day still remain unsolved. It is generally accepted that he definitely killed five which are named as Mary Ann who was murdered on August 31, Annie Chapman who was murdered on the 8th September, Catharine Eddowes and Elizabeth Stride both murdered on September 30th and Mary Jane Kelly murdered on the 9th November all in 1888. Most of the women were poor and vulnerable prostitutes. There was no sign of intercourse or that the Ripper masturbated over the bodies.

The Ripper grabbed hold of the women by their throats and strangled them until they were unconscious if not dead. He then cut their throats and removed some internal organs believed to be ‘trophies’ for him to keep. This made police at the time believe he had a medical background as he had anatomical knowledge. In one of the cases he removed a kidney from the front rather than from the side, and doing so he did not damage any of the surrounding organs. In one other case he managed to remove the sexual organs with one stroke of the knife, which when you think it was nearly completely dark and trying not to be noticed, he would have had to work fast, this makes investigators or ripperologists believe he had experience using the knife.

At that time the activities of the Ripper were chronicled in the newspapers including the results of the inquiries and the actions taken by the police. Because at the time there was no such thing as forensic evidence or even finger printing, the only way to commit someone of murder was to actually catch them in the act of get them to confess.

To this very day Jack the Ripper has remained popular. This is due to the fact that he was never caught and the mysteries surrounding this killer add to the romance of the story and creating an intellectual puzzle that people still want to solve today.

Since the murders there have been many works of fiction in both books and movies. There was a recent BBC TV series called Whitechapel. Those still fascinated with these unsolved murders can also go on the Jack the Ripper tour in the East end of London. The tour lasts for 2 ½ hours and explores the historical background of the Ripper murders. You get to explore the dark passages and alleys that the murderer used and visit three murder sites and a couple of other possible Ripper sites.

For more information on the Jack the Ripper Tour, Doctor Who Tour, Gavin and Stacy Tours, James Bond and many other London Tours check out Brit Movie Tours.