Tuesday, April 12, 2011

JACK THE RIPPER


The true Identity of Jack the Ripper has eluded us for over a century. Mass murderers have always fascinated me. The true nature of evil or insanity? What makes them the way they are? None have fascinated me as much as Jack the Ripper. Why was he never caught or revealed, or was he, and like the identity of Kennedys assasin just never made public. The movie From Hell raises an interesting take on Jack the Ripper as do many other works of fiction. One has to wonder what ever happened to him, did he stop killing, did he die, or was he in fact caught?

As the murders were never solved, the legends surrounding them became a combination of genuine historical research,  and folklore. The term "ripperology" was coined to describe the study and analysis of the Ripper cases. There are now over one hundred theories about the Ripper's identity, and the murders have inspired multiple works of fiction. The monster in the man is a spark that can fuel any writers imagination. Don't you agree?
Jack the ripper

Minnie-ism for today
" What is it about the name Jack that makes everyone go so crazy?"

If you think about it, the name Jack has been linked to many crazy things. Jack-ass, Jack a lantern, Jack the knife, Crazy Jack, Cracker Jack, and Jack in the box (always freeked me out) Can you think of any more crazy Jacks?


16 comments:

Unknown said...

Jack and the Beanstalk - except he wasn't nuts. Ummm...Union Jack (there are people who think that's crazy nowadays, ahem), Jack Sprat, Jack of all Trades. That's it! Ooooohhhh - Jack the Ripper was the worse by far.
PS - I love Minnie.

Anonymous said...

Jack rabbit is the only other one I can think of. Sorry it's really early for me. lol Your comment box was in the middle of that last paragraph. Almost didn't find it.

Anonymous said...

BTW jack the ripper... All time creepiest serial killer. I am fascinated to with people like that.

No Guile said...

Jack Daniels.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Siv .. great list .. I suppose we'll never find out who he was .. not like 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' ... Jack by the hedge - refers to mustard ... Jackdaw - part of the crow family .. jack-ass ... Jack Frost ... jack-knife .. jack-pot .. and others! Thought you'd like this poem:

Written by the Ripper apparently:

I'm not a butcher,
Nor a Yid.
Nor yet a foreign skipper
But I'm your own light-hearted friend
Yours truly. Jack the Ripper.

Funny what lasts .. came out of Brewer's Phrase and Fable ... cheers Hilary

N. R. Williams said...

Several years ago I saw a special about Jack the Ripper. A mystery murder writer from the USA was investigating. I wish I could remember her name or the name of the man she fingered. Here are the points of her evidence.

A well known and popular painter (artist) had his studio in the area of the murders. He was known for his portraits and he had a history of having the person he painted in front of him. This is not unusual. What is unusual is all the murdered women were painted by him after they were murdered with attention to detail the murder and adding jewelry. Example: On one woman he added a pearl necklace in the slit in her throat. Gross!

His studio would have made a quit get-away location.

When he moved to Paris, the murders stopped, but less known is that similar murders began in Paris.

He stayed the night once in a Scottish hotel and signed his name as Jack the Ripper.

Her argument was followed by a lot of fact including an abusive childhood. I just wish I could remember who she was and the guy she fingered.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium.

Arlee Bird said...

Jack, the one that went up the hill with Jill?

I really liked the film From Hell and the theory that it presented. I was so enthralled with it that I watched all of the special features on the 2 DVD set and they were as interesting as the movie was. I must watch this film again.


Lee
Tossing It Out
Twitter hashtag: #atozchallenge

Bluestocking Mum said...

I've also always been fascinated by Jack the Ripper - probably because he was never identified and many stories abounded about his true identity, even that he might be royalty!

When I was a young girl/teenager I grew up in Leeds and we had a serial murderer on the loose there for several years. Peter Sutcliffe - The Yorkshire Ripper - was actually even more brutal than the London Ripper. He murdered 13 women and attacked about 8 and this was all within a 7 mile radius of where I lived. One of the women who thankfully lived was attacked in the next village to me.

I can't tell you how quiet the streets were at night back then. No women went out after dark and if they did it was always in a group. It was truly terrifying at the time.

xx


btw- I haven't sussed out how to do the award. I had a look the other day but have missed a few from other people as I wasn't sure. I'll try and work it out later this eve when I have more time ;)

Dafeenah said...

Nicholson? I will have to check out this movie. It's the first time I have heard of it. Sounds very interesting

Dafeenah

Luana Krause said...

I've always been interested in psycho killers, too. What makes them tick?

nutschell said...

Siv,
what a creepy yet fascinating post. I've been researching tours in london for our trip next month and i've encountered so many jack the ripper tours! clearly, im avoiding those.:P love minnie, by the way!
nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Bob Scotney said...

Jackanory comes to mind. If you play pocket I cnn see 4 Jacks.

Allison said...

Jack the Ripper was the first serial killer who fascinated me! I've read a fair amount about him, including what was thought to be his journal... There's just something interesting about someone who can murder people AND elude police...

- allison writes

Corinne O said...

The elusive Jackalope! I read a really interesting book about Jack the Ripper by Patricia Cornwell. Have you seen it? Fascinating stuff. I think it is called Portrait of a Killer. It is a case study about who she believes he was.

Reading Minnie's blurb made me laugh. I grew up with a little old lady named Frieda. lol

Haddock said...

I remember reading a big fat book with a similar story "The Michigan Murders"

nomzam said...

Thanks Siv sor the vey nice information about jack tour.
But I think this story always remain mystery.
London Tours east