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10 Less Known Jack The Ripper Facts That Might Pique Your Interest

Existing more than two centuries ago, very little is known about the killer from 'The Autumn Of Terror'.

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Shivangi Mukherjee
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Jack the Ripper Facts
1888 saw a sinister figure lurking in Whitechapel streets of eastside London. This person came to be known as the infamous Jack The Ripper. That year London saw a monster with an insatiable hunger for the most gruesome murders that went down in history. It is still unknown who the infamous murderer Jack The Ripper was.
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Existing more than two centuries ago, very little is known about the killer from 'The Autumn Of Terror'. Even the name Jack The Ripper is believed to have emerged from a letter received by the Central News Agency in London where the killer signed off under that name.

Here are some interesting facts about the notorious killer.


Suggested Reading: Serial killer Charles Sobhraj Released: Know Why He Was Called ‘Bikini Killer’


10 Interesting Jack The Ripper Facts

  • Jack The Ripper is officially apprehended for the murders of the ‘Canonical Five’. The five murders took place between August and November of 1888. Even though there are conjectures of him having committed more murders, an identical pattern has not been found, other than the pattern of the ‘Canonical Five’.
  • Despite having committed only five murders officially, he was dreaded in East London for his style of committing murders. He only targeted Whitechapel sex workers. There would be multiple lacerations on his victim’s body. Their organs would be removed and displayed theatrically above their shoulders. The victim’s face and body would be mutilated beyond recognition.
  • The ‘Double Event’ in the ‘Canonical Five’ murder stands out for two gruesome murders taking place less than an hour apart from each other. It is believed that Jack was interrupted during the killing of Liz Stride, the first of the ‘Double Event’ victims. Catherine Eddowes was the second of the ‘Double Event’ victims. Faecal matter had been smeared across Catherine’s face accompanied by Jack’s usual gruesome mutilations, theatrical display of organs, and bodily lacerations.
  • Mary Jane Kelly was officially known to be the last of Jack The Ripper’s victims. This was the first murder that the killer had performed in private. Therefore, the killer took liberties with his theatrical style. Kelly’s body was the most mutilated out of the five victims. The incisions and disfigurements are considered excessive even by today’s standards. Some of her removed organs were displayed on her table by the killer.
  • Owing to the killer’s style of murder, there were theories of Jack The Ripper being a butcher or a surgeon. The murders were committed early in the morning or on weekends which suggests that the killer had a day job.
  • The killer always seemed to know what areas of Whitechapel were being patrolled and had a knack for committing murders at secluded spots. This led to the belief that the killer must have been a native of that area as he knew the area quite well.
  • Jack The Ripper is believed to have been born between 1859-68. He is believed to have been in his mid-twenties or thirties while committing the murders. He was believed to have been left-handed by Dr. Llewellyn after a study of the direction of the knife wounds on Mary Ann Nichols his first victim.
  • Three letters are said to have been written by the killer to the police authorities in London. The first letter was called ‘Dear Boss’, the second a ‘Saucy Jack’ postcard, and the third, the infamous ‘From Hell’.
  • The last correspondence, ‘From Hell’ stood out the most among the other two because of the parcel it came attached with. The parcel contained a part of a human kidney. The killer had removed Catherine Eddowes’ kidney when he had killed her.
  • Ripperologists and the common Ripper lore say ‘too many suspects, not enough bodies’. 500 suspects had been put forward as Jack The Ripper. Some of the most notable ones are Aaron Kosminski, Sir William Gull, and Francis Tumblety.
Jack The Ripper Facts Ripper lore
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