Theme: Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper was a real-life Serial Killer who slaughtered five women (all prostitutes) in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London in November of 1888. The murders gained considerable notoriety in their day.

While some individuals were questioned, nobody was ever arrested or identified as The Ripper. Since then, there has been a vast industry of books and internet sites speculating about who from the era might have been the killer, ranging from reasonable suspects to entirely fanciful theories (members of the Royal Family) and even hoaxes (The Jack the Ripper Diary).

Film based on the killings have treated the facts very liberally (portraying the victims as dancehall girls because censorship forbade mention of prostitutes), opting for the absurd Royal conspiracy theory or creating fictional victims and suspects.

Aside from actual depictions of the events, there have been works that have had the fictional contemporary character of Sherlock Holmes solve the case or Dr Jekyll’s Mr Hyde half as the killer. Other works show the Ripper travelling in time, resurrected or copycatted in the present-day or even involve aliens and possessing spirits. Jack the Ripper is also a key figure of the Victorian Gaslight Mileu.