It is the From Hell letter that remains the most notorious to this day.
What Is The From Hell Letter and Why Is It Notorious? The From Hell letter was dated the 15th of October 1888. Therefore, the From Hell letter was dated on this day in history. The From Hell letter doesn't say the name 'Jack the Ripper'. But, it is a letter that is referring to the Whitechapel Murders. Specifically, the murders which happened on the 30th of September 1888. The murders which happened on the 30th of September 1888, were committed by Jack the Ripper. Those murders are known as 'The Double Event', as it was a night that Jack the Ripper had murdered two women.
The two women that Jack the Ripper murdered that night was Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. Both women were murdered in the same hour, during the very early morning of the 30th of September 1888.
Part of Catherine Eddowes ear was found clipped off when the police found her after her murder. They had also found that Catherine Eddowes was missing a kidney after her murder. And that's where the From Hell letter comes in. The From Hell letter is perhaps the only authentic letter in the Whitechapel Murders case, in the sense, that there is good reason to suspect that this letter was from the killer himself. This is because the letter both references part of an ear being clipped off one of the women who were murdered in the Double Event. And, more terrifyingly, it is a letter that contained a package with it. That package had inside it half a human kidney. It's one thing to hoax a letter, but it's something far different when a human kidney is sent with the letter. It suggests that the From Hell letter is not just a hoax, but is a letter sent by the killer - Jack the Ripper. The From Hell letter reads: ''From hell. Mr Lusk, Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nice. I may send you the bloody knife that took it out if you only wate a while longer signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk''
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On this day in history, the Dear Boss letter was published in the Daily News on the 1st of October 1888.
This letter was believed to have been written by Jack the Ripper, at the time that it was published - on the 1st of October 1888. However, it's now thought that the letter may have been a hoax. The authenticity of the Dear Boss letter is still debated today. But, regardless of whether the Dear Boss letter is authentic or not, it is still a very significant letter in the Jack the Ripper case. The reason that the Dear Boss letter is so significant in the Jack the Ripper case, is because of what the letter gave us: it gave us the name Jack the Ripper. The Dear Boss letter was the first ever time that the name 'Jack the Ripper' was used.
The Dear Boss letter was dated: the 25th of September 1888.
Then, the letter reached Central News Agency on the 27th of September 1888 and then it was sent off to the police. It arrived at Scotland Yard on the 29th of September 1888. Finally, the letter was published to the public, via the Daily News, on the 1st of October 1888. The Dear Boss letter remains one of three letters, out of hundreds of Jack the Ripper letters that were sent to the police in 1888, that has gained the most attention and scrutiny. The second page, and last part of the Dear Boss letter reads... The Dear Boss Jack the Ripper Letter Was Published In The Daily News On The 1st of October 18881/10/2019
The Dear Boss letter was published in the newspaper the Daily News on the 1st of October 1888, but it was dated the 29th of September 1888, therefore, whoever wrote the Dear Boss letter must have written it on the 29th of September 1888.
The Dear Boss letter arrived on the following day on the 29th of September 1888 at Scotland Yard, claiming to be the serial killer - Jack the Ripper. The Dear Boss letter is the first time that the name Jack the Ripper was used. Prior to that, the name Jack the Ripper had never been used. The letter read:
''Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper Dont mind me giving the trade name PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha''
The Saucy Jack postcard arrived at Central News Agency on this day in history in 1888. It was postmarked the 1st of October 1888 and arrived on the same day.
The author claimed to be Jack the Ripper. However, there has been speculation and debate about the author's true identity ever since the Saucy Jack postcard was created. It's thought today that the Saucy Jack postcard was a hoax, and therefore, it's likely that the author of the Saucy Jack postcard wasn't Jack the Ripper. This is what the Saucy Jack postcard said:
''I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. ha not the time to get ears for police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper'' You can read more about the Saucy Jack postcard here.
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.
Today, there are only a handful of Jack the Ripper letters which have remained infamous. These Jack the Ripper letters include the Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jack postcard, and the From Hell letter. The authenticity of the Dear Boss letter, the From Hell letter and the Saucy Jack postcard, is debated to this day - were they really sent by Jack the Ripper? or, were they a hoax written by a journalist? Those questions are debatable.
Probably two of those Jack the Ripper letters are hoaxes, while the third was real. At the time, police officials believed that two of these letters, the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack postcard, was written by a journalist. Interestingly, recent research on the letters has supported this theory. Both letters were studied at the University of Manchester by a forensic linguistic expert, they revealed what police in 1888 had suspected - that the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack postcard, was written by the same person. That doesn't prove that it was written by a journalist, but there is more - one journalist called Fredrick Best, allegedly confessed to writing the Dear Boss letter. If that confession was authentic, then he must have written both of these Jack the Ripper letters. Therefore, it would solve the mystery of two of the most infamous Jack the Ripper letters. It leaves us with one more letter - the From Hell letter. The From Hell letter The From Hell letter is the most infamous of all of the Jack the Ripper letters. It is a letter different from the others, both in its content and in what it was sent with - half a human kidney. Why was it different from the other letters? The From Hell letter is the most infamous of all of the Jack the Ripper letters. It is a letter different from the others, both in its content and in what it was sent with - half a human kidney. Why was it different from the other letters? Noticeably, this letter wasn't signed off with 'Jack the Ripper', like other ripper letters, were. The other letters were vague in who they were addressing, they were written addressing 'the boss'. However, the From Hell letter was more personal, it addressed George Lusk. George Lusk was head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was a group of businessmen patrol the streets of Whitechapel at the time of the killings, to search for Jack the Ripper. Therefore, it seems as if the From Hell letter was more personal - like it was specifically trying to send a message to George Lusk. If that was the case, then it tells us a few things about the author of the letter. And if it was sent by Jack the Ripper, then it gives us some clues to his identity. For one, it tells us that the ripper probably was a local. It also tells us that Jack the Ripper might have known Lusk. What suggests this, is not just that the From Hell letter addressed George Lusk, but it was sent to Mr Lusks home - meaning that the author knew where he lived and who he was. It tells us that Jack the Ripper was possibly hiding in plain sight. Why should we think the From Hell letter is authentic? There are hundreds of Jack the Ripper letters, but only one of them can be regarded as authentic and sent from Jack the Ripper himself - the From Hell letter. There are several reasons to suggest this letter was from the killer: . It was sent with half a human kidney. This goes a lot further than merely hoaxing a letter. It's more sinister and disturbing. . The Missing Half Kidney Two weeks prior to Mr Lusk receiving the letter, Jack the Ripper murdered Catherine Eddowes and removed her kidney. The kidney was examined by two doctors, Dr Gordon Brown and Dr Thomas Openshaw; both believed that the kidney was human. Some have argued that sending this half a kidney was just a joke. However, given that it was a real kidney sent to Mr Lusk, we can't write it off as merely as a joke, especially when a woman was murdered two weeks prior, who had a kidney removed by her murderer, then it can't be seen or treated as a joke. If we do consider it as a joke, then the obvious question is, 'who did the kidney belong to, if it wasn't from Catherine Eddowes?' There's nothing to suggest that the kidney belonged to anyone else. Conclusion These three Jack the Ripper letters, give us a fascinating insight into the Jack the Ripper case. Two of these letters were probably hoaxed by one journalist - which shows how the media sensationalised or were willing to sensationalise the murders (probably to sell more newspapers). Recent evidence shows us that two of the letters, the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack postcard, were written by the same hand. The hand that wrote them, was most likely of that of the Victorian journalist; Fredrick Best. While we can't say the same for our third letter; the From Hell letter. The From Hell letter probably was from Jack the Ripper. Out of all of the Jack the Ripper letters, it remains the only one that was likely sent by the murderer, both due to its content and the kidney that accompanied it.
There were many letters proclaiming to be from Jack the Ripper sent to the police in 1888. However, most of these Jack the Ripper letters have since been forgotten, lost in historical obscurity.
Out of the hundreds of Jack the Ripper letters sent, only a tiny handful remain relevant. The most infamous Jack the Ripper letters are the Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jack Postcard, and the From Hell letter. These are the three Jack the Ripper letters which have been given the greatest attention. But. Are any of these letters authentic? If any of these letters were authentic, it would give us an insight into who Jack the Ripper was. It also perhaps gave us an inkling into his thinking, and perhaps a reason for his actions. There's so much we can deduce from a letter. From his style of writing, could tell us his educational status to his literacy level. Does that matter? If we think a letter is authentic, absolutely. If a letter suggests that it was written by someone who had poor writing skills, spelling mistakes etc...it would indicate that Jack was poorly educated. That could rule out several suspects, who are well educated - Montague Druitt, for example. It would narrow down the suspect's list if any of these letters were authentic.
Let's take the three letters, and see whether or not they were authentic.
The Dear Boss Letter The Dear Boss letter is the longest of the three, therefore, it gives us more of an insight into the author. The Dear Boss letter has been significant to this case, because it was dated on the 27th of September, and sent to the Central News Agency on the 29th of September...this was a day before the Double Event, where Jack the Ripper killed two women in the space of one night. The letter is significant because of its contents. The author says that on ''the next job I do I shall clip the lady's ear off''. One of the women who was killed on the night of the Double Event on the 30th of September 1888, Catherine Eddowes, had her ear clipped off. Reasons that this letter may be authentic: . The author sent the letter before the murder and wrote in the letter what would happen during the murder. Reasons that this letter may be a hoax: The police at the time weren't convinced that this letter was real. They thought that it was another hoax. The letter, along with the Saucy Jack Postcard, could have been written by journalists. The Saucy Jack Post Card A new study by Manchester University has suggested that the Dear Boss letter, and the Saucy Jack postcard, was written by the same person. The Saucy Jack Postcard, like the Dear Boss letter, surrounded the time of the Double Event. The Saucy Jack postcard was postmarked the 1st of October 1888, therefore, there was plenty of time to learn about the Double Event and then forge it. It's significant because if this letter was forged, then the Dear Boss letter must also have been forged, as they seem to be from the same author. Reasons this letter might be authentic: . It references the Dear Boss letter explicitly. Which makes it appear as if it's from the same author. . It also references the Double Event. This one is more tricky, as, as stated, there was plenty of time to forge it. Reasons this letter might not be a hoax: . It seems to contradict the Dear Boss letter. Where the Dear Boss letter says that the killer clipped part of a woman's ear off, the Saucy Jack postcard, however, said they didn't have time to get the woman's ears off. This indicates that rather than the author having foreknowledge of the clipped ear, it was just a lucky guess. ******* Whether or not these two letters were from the killer, is debatable. What is clear, however, is that both letters were sent by the same writer, according to recent research. Finally, we have the most infamous letter out of all of the letters, the From Hell letter. The From Hell letter is different from the other two letters for several reasons: . The style of writing and spelling is different . It's not addressed to the press; it was addressed to Mr George Lusk (a local man who was seeking to capture Jack the Ripper). . It wasn't signed off 'Jack the Ripper' like the other two letters were signed off. . The letter seems personal - it specifically refers to Mr George Lusk on several occasions. . It talks of cannibalism (he talks about eating half a human kidney - probably from Catherine Eddowes). . Half a human kidney was sent with the letter to George Lusk. The thing that stands out with this letter, is not really the letter itself, it's the human kidney that was sent with it. It's one thing to forge a letter, it's quite another to send half a human kidney along with that letter - that goes further than a hoax, and is probably the reason why this letter is authentic. Conclusion The From Hell letter probably is authentic. The kidney sent to Mr Lusk was a human kidney, it also belonged to a woman of Catherine Eddowes age, which makes it seem likely that this letter and the message sent with it, was authentic. The other two letters, however, don't appear to be authentic. The study of the two letters revealed that the handwriting on the letters matched ones which were found from the Central News Agency. Two of these letters were probably hoaxes, the other letter was probably authentic. The From Hell letter is perhaps the most interesting Jack the Ripper letter. Both for its content. And for what was sent with the From Hell letter, a human kidney. It is for the latter, that this letter is the most significant. Some would argue that the other Jack the Ripper letters, particularly theSaucy Jack Postcard and the Dear Boss letter as hoaxes. Hoxes that were used to either taunt the police. Or used as pranks, as most of the Jack the Ripper letters were thought to be. But, with the From Hell letter, it is hard to just dismiss it as a joke or prank. It goes further than being just a prank. The From Hell letter stands out from the Saucy Jack Postcard and the Dear Boss letter. One of the reasons for that is, because of the human kidney that was sent to the police along with the letter. The other difference of the From Hell letter compared to the Saucy Jack Postcard and the Dear Boss letter is that the From Hell letter does not sign off with 'Jack the Ripper,' whereas, the other two do. Therefore, the nature of the From Hell letter seems to be different from the other two. There is also another way that the From Hell letter is different. Unlike with the Saucy Jack and Dear Boss letters, the hell letter was not delivered to the Central News Agency. It was delivered to the home of George Lusk. George Lusk was a chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee were a group of volunteers who patrolled the streets of Whitechapel during the Ripper murders. Their aim was to keep the streets of Whitechapel safe, at the time of the Ripper murders. At the height of the Ripper murders, on the 15th of October 1888, the most infamous letter, the From Hell letter, was sent to Mr Lusk. The letter contained the following: ''from hell. Mr Lusk, Sor I send you half the Kidne I took from one woman prasarved it for you tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise. I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer signed Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk "Tother" is a nonstandard regional expression meaning "the other." The letter does appear to be different from the other two letters. But most interesting, is the nature of the letter. In it, he is saying how he took a kidney from a woman. On the night of the Double Event, Jack the Ripper took out the kidney of his fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes. It's possible that the kidney which was sent to Mr Lusk was, in fact, Catherine Eddowes. With the lack of anatomical knowledge at the time of the Ripper murders, we will never now. Since then, most if not all of the physical evidence surrounding the Ripper case has vanished. Probably destroyed over time. This makes it impossible to determine who's kidney Mr Lusk was sent. If it was sent by Jack the Ripper, then this would be one of the few insights we have into the ripper. The Dear Boss Letter was the first prominent letter of the Jack the Ripper case. It is the first time that we come across the name 'Jack the Ripper.' As the author of the letter signs the letter off with 'Jack the Ripper.' The second letter (or postcard), was sent around a week later. The second prominent Jack the Ripper letter is what is known as 'The Saucy Jack Postcard.' The Saucy Jack Postcard is shorter in length than the Dear Boss Letter. There is also another noticeable difference from The Saucy Jack Postcard and the Dear Boss Letter, and that is the writing on each of them. It looks like we are perhaps dealing with two different authors in these letters.
Therefore, both of these letters may not be written by the same author. They don't appear to be written by the same author. If that is the case and these two letters have different authors, then at least one of them must be a hoax. Like other Jack the Ripper letters, the authenticity of The Saucy Jack Postcard is debated. Some argue that the letter is a hoax, while others argue that the letter is authentic.
Let us look at what The Saucy Jack Postcard says. It was sent to the Central News Agency, just like the Dear Boss Letter, on the 1st of October 1888. It was sent to the agency just after the Double Event. The Double Event happened in the early hours of the morning on the 30th of September 1888. The event saw Jack the Ripper murder two women that night, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes. The letter reads: ''I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. ha not the time to get ears for police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again. Jack the Ripper'' The writing on this letter looks messy, indicating that the letter could have been rushed. The similarity with this letter and the boss letter is that both of the authors talk about clipping ears. But, the postcard says that the killer did not have time to clip his victims ears off. On Elizabeth Stride though, her left earlobe was torn or cut. This indicates that it wasn't the killer who had written the Saucy Jack Postcard. However, if the killer did write the postcard, there could be an explanation as to why the killer didn't realise that Stride's ear had been cut. It's believed that the Ripper was interrupted when he was murdering Stride. It has been argued that the Ripper went on to kill again that night, because of that interruption. He was unsatisfied with the killing. Whatever the truth, three things remain clear about the Double Event. It seems that Jack lost control that night. He seems to have been erratic and not in control. He also left us a clue, the only clue we have of him. But another thing, it's also the night theJack the Ripper was nearly caught. Almost being caught perhaps startled him. Throughout the next month, in October 1888, no murders happened that we know about. The Double Event seems to have silenced the Ripper for over a month. Or did it? The next letter we are going to be looking at, is the From Hell letter. The From Hell letter seems to be the only letter which is authentic. The Dear Boss letter was sent to the Central News Agency on the 27th of September in 1888. It was sent just before the Double Event, at the height of the Ripper murders. The Double Event is the term used to describe the night that Jack the Ripper murdered two women. The two women that Jack the Ripper killed that night were Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddows. This was the height of the Ripper murders. The Double Event happened in the early hours of the morning of the 30th of September 1888. Before this, Jack the Ripper had murdered two other women previously. The first victim of Jack's, Mary Ann Nichols, was murdered in the early hours of the morning on the 31st of August. The second victim of Jack's, Annie Chapman, was in the early hours of the morning of the 8th of September 1888. Most historians and Ripperologists agree that Jack murdered five women in total. These five women are known as the Canonical Five, to Ripperologists. However, not everyone agrees that Jack murdered five women, some believe he murdered more women than that. Before the Double Event murders, someone sent a letter to Central News Agency in London. Originally the Dear Boss Letter was thought to have been a hoax. Since then, it has been debated whether or not it was a hoax. Perhaps it was written and sent by a journalist, who knew how the media worked. Or, could the letter have been written and sent on behalf of the Ripper? The Forensics Linguistics Institute has an interesting take onthis. The reason for the latter, that the Dear Boss Letter was written on behalf of Jack the Ripper is, what is in the letter. In the letter, the Ripper states that he will ''cut the ladies ear off.'' Which did happen a few days later. Was this just a coincidence? Or, did the writer of the letter know what was going to happen? Perhaps this question could be answered by a professional who is trained in linguistics or trained in statement analysis. A statement analysis approach to the letter could also tell us whether or not this was written by Jack. An expert in this field would be able to analyse it and reach the truth. Here is the Dear Boss Letter in full: ''25 Sept.1888.Dear Boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they have look so clever and talked about being on the right track. That joke about Leather apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. you will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper Red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha.ha. The next job I do I shall clip the lady s ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldnt you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good luck. Yours truly Jack the Ripper Don't mind me giving the trade name Source: Courtesy of the National Archives. |
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