The Autumn of Terror in 1888, was the season where Jack the Ripper reigned his terror. Jack the Ripper has become the world's most notorious serial killer, however, he appeared and disappeared quickly. In other words, the murders that Jack the Ripper committed, did not happen over a long period of time.
As the name'Autumn of Terror' suggests, Jack the Rippers murders happened throughout the Autumn of 1888. The murders began in August 1888 and stopped in November 1888; the murders finished as suddenly as they started that Autumn. Jack the Ripper disappeared into obscurity, his identity never discovered and something which is debated to this day. What Happened In The Autumn of Terror? The murders started on either August 7th 1888, or the 31st of August 1888. Two different women were murdered on those dates. A local prostitute named Martha Tabram was murdered in the early morning hours of August 7th 1888. Whereas, Mary Ann Nichols, another local prostitute, was murdered in the early morning hours of the 31st of August 1888. The killer was never identified for either woman, which is part of the reason some suspect that Jack the Ripper murdered both women. Some Ripperologists argue that Martha Tabram was the first victim of Jack the Ripper; while others argue that the first victim was Mary Ann Nichols. Most Ripperologists do seem to think that Nichols was murdered by Jack the Ripper, but she was not the last woman to meet her end. How Many Women Were Murdered? There was a total of five women murdered, these are known as the canonical five. If we include Martha, then he killed six women. There's also the possibility that Jack the Ripper had other victims that we don't know about. The true extent may never be known. Most Ripperologists, however, think that he had at least five victims. These are the canonical five victims. They are as follows: Mary Ann Nichols - 31st of August 1888 Annie Chapman - 8th of September 1888 Elizabeth Stride - 30th of September 1888 Catherine Eddowes - 30th of September 1888 Mary Jane Kelly - 9th of November 1888 The Double Event As you can see from above, there were two women killed on the same this, this has become known as the Double Event. The Double Event was when the Ripper killed two women on the same night. The two women Jack the Ripper murdered, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, were murdered within just 45 minutes of each other. It's thought that the Ripper was disturbed killing Elizabeth Stride, they he became angry, or sickly dissatisfied and went on to kill Catherine Eddowes because of it. Whatever his reasons for killing two women that night, it showed that he was completely out of control that night and erratic. He would have had the police out in force that night when Louis Diemschutz alerted the police to the murder of Elizabeth. Louis Diemschutz found her body just minutes after the Ripper had killed her, he also thought that the Ripper was hiding in the shadows, therefore, the police would have been out in force trying to catch Jack. It indicates that Jack the Ripper was out of control that night. The Silence Of October There were no murders during October 1888 (at least that we know of). Perhaps that was down to the Double Event when Jack almost got caught. Perhaps he lay low that October 1888 because he almost got caught. There was, however, several letters that were addressed by Jack the Ripper. Three of these letters remain significant. They are the Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jack postcard and the From Hell letter. Most likely the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack postcard were fake and forged by a journalist at the time. The From Hell letter is different, it's probably the only letter sent by Jack the Ripper. It was a letter which was short and to the point. But it was also a letter that was accompanied with half a human kidney. The Last Victim, Mary Jane Kelly The last victim was a local prostitute named Mary Jane Kelly. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered and mutilated like most of his other killings. However, the mutilation of Mary Jane Kelly was far more graphic. She was murdered in the early morning hours of the 9th of November 1888 and became the Rippers last victim (that we know of). Why Jack suddenly stopped has remained as much of a mystery as his identity. There have been many theories about why things suddenly stopped. The most common reasons as 1) He stopped because he died, 2) He stopped because he was sent to a mental asylum, and 3) He stopped because he was too ill to carry on. Whatever the reason was, knowing why he suddenly stopped could help us discover who he was and why he committed those crimes. Drawing 1888 To A Close As 1888 drew to a close, Jack the Ripper wasn't caught. Speculation about his identity has persisted for 130 years after that Autumn of Terror.
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