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Who they were, what they did, and how. I am your Norwegian host, Thomas Weyborg Thun. As promised last week, tonight I bring you along once again to the banks of the Thames and the dingy, dirty, smog-filled streets of Whitechapel in London.
All of Jack's five known victims have been covered, but we are not finished with Jack himself. Jack the Ripper was an enigmatic serial killer par excellence, and what made him especially famous was his need for public spectacle and his games with the London police.
There are several letters claimed to be written by Jack's red right hand, and tonight I present them to you, dear listener. The Serial Killer Podcast now has well over 8 million downloads.
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To donate and choose from these tiers, go to patreon.com slash the serial killer podcast now. Dear boss, I keep on hearing the police have caught me, but they won't 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 shan't 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 I 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 can't 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, 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. Don't mind me giving the trade name. P.S. Wasn't 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.
What you just listened to was the famous Dear Boss letter. During the period of the Ripper murders, the media, police, and other officials had received a sea of letters. The Whitechapel murders had created such a media frenzy that many local citizens found it irresistible to not want to be a part of this sensational investigation.
Some of the letters were sent by concerned citizens offering their support in the ongoing investigation, yet hundreds of letters were written by pranksters with the intent of taunting police.
Apart from a few well-intentioned letters from Whitechapel citizens, hoping to aid police in their efforts to apprehend Jack the Ripper, the bulk of these letters were crass, distasteful, or simply worthless. Several of the Ripper letters were written as if by the killer himself. The vast majority of them, if not all, were believed to be hoaxes.
The Dear Boss letter is arguably perhaps the most famous of the three most prominent Ripper letters, as it marked the first usage of the moniker that would later become legend, the signature using the nom de guerre of Jack the Ripper, soon after the Dear Boss letter was made public.
Hundreds more letters were received claiming to be written by Jack the Ripper. All of them undoubtedly hoaxes. Most of them possessed the same tone and catchphrases from the Dear Boss letter and were signed using the previously unknown nickname of Jack the Ripper. The Dear Boss letter, along with the Saucy Jack postcard,
were published by Metropolitan Police and handed out to citizens in hopes that someone would be able to identify the handwriting. Yet nothing came of it. Newspapers also reprinted the messages, creating a worldwide media frenzy and increasing the celebrity of Jack the Ripper.
Some sources claim there was a previous letter, which had been dated the 17th of September, in which the author referred to himself as Jack the Ripper. However, most experts discount that letter as a modern-day hoax, which was placed in police records during the 1900s, well after the time of the murders.
While not well publicized, police officials later stated that they believed the Dear Boss letter and Saucy Jack postcards to be the work of a local journalist by the name of Tom Bullen. Years later, in 1931, a journalist named Fred Best reportedly confessed to writing the Dear Boss letter and Saucy Jack postcard
in an attempt to keep the business alive. It is not known if his claims were genuine, but it is highly plausible. Shortly after the investigation ended, the Dear Boss letter came up missing from police files. It's believed that one of the investigating officers in the Ripper case had kept it as a souvenir. In 1988, nearly a century after the case had been closed,
It was returned to Metropolitan Police by an anonymous party. The Central News Agency received the Saucy Jack postcard on the 1st of October 1888, the same day as its postmark. The writer's handwriting on the postcard was very similar to that seen in the Dear Boss letter.
The Saucy Jack postcard makes mention of a double event, which was obviously in reference to the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both of which occurred, as you hopefully remember, previous episodes on the morning of the 30th of September. The postcard was quite small and very plain, with red splotches on it.
and it read as follows, in red handwriting, filled with grammatical errors. "'I was not cutting there, old boss, when I gave you the tip. You'll hear about Saucy Jackie's work tomorrow. Double event this time,' number one squealed a bit, couldn't finish straight off, had not got time to get ears off for police.'
Thanks, keeping last letter back till I got to work again, Jack the Ripper. It's worth noting that part of Edo's ear was found severed at the crime scene. Some believe this was an unintentional result of the facial mutilations that the killer performed. Others argue it was deliberate.
Another topic of debate has been whether or not the postcard was sent prior to the murders or afterward. Some suggest that the message was sent before news of the murders hit local papers, thus substantiating the fact that it was written by someone with first-hand knowledge of the crime.
Others argue that because the letter was postmarked more than 24 hours after the killings, it was likely a hoax, since most details surrounding the murders were already being reported by the media. As with the Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jack postcard later turned up missing from police files.
Unlike the Dear Boss letter, however, which had been returned in 1988, the Saucy Jack postcard is still missing. Only a facsimile of it exists in the foils. The final of the canonical three letters is perhaps the most infamous. Its introduction reading from Hell says,
has been the title of books, comic books, and a pretty good film, all covering the Jack the Ripper case. The From Hell letter is arguably the most disturbing, as well as the most infamous. This is mainly due to how the letter arrived. It arrived as a parcel package, sealed inside a small box, accompanied by half of a human kidney.
Coincidentally, Catherine Eddow's killer had removed one of her kidneys. This letter is also distinct in that not only is the handwriting unique and very different from the Dear Boss and Saucy Jack letters, but the writer also left it unsigned. The From Hell letter also appears to be penned by someone with even less literary prowess,
than those responsible for the Dear Boss letter and Saucy Jack postcard. The letter, postmarked the 15th of October, was received by George Lusk, head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, on the 16th of October, 1888. It reads as follows, in very crude red handwriting.
From hell. Mr. Lusk. Sore. I send you half the kidney I took from one woman. Preserved it for you. T'other piece I fried and ate. It was very nice. I may send you the bloody knife that I took it out if you only wait a while longer. Signed, Catch me when you can, Mr. Lusk.
The kidney had been preserved in alcohol and was in fact confirmed to be that of a human female's. Lusk, along with members of the medical field, believed the kidney and accompanying message to be a practical joke played by medical students who'd obtained the organ from a cadaver. Dr. Thomas Openshaw, the physician who examined the kidney, concluded:
that it had come from a woman about forty-five years of age, who also suffered from Bright's disease. This disease is a failing of the kidneys as a result of heavy drinking. Catherine Eddowes was forty-six at the time of her murder and was known to drink quite heavily.
Like much of the other evidence in the Jack the Ripper case files, the From Hell letter and accompanying kidney have either been lost or stolen. All that remains on file is a photograph of the letter taken before its disappearance.
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Real Noom user compensated to provide their story. In four weeks, the typical Noom user can expect to lose one to two pounds per week. Individual results may vary. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. As a family man with three kids, I know firsthand how extremely difficult it is to make time for self-care. But it's good to have some things that are non-negotiable. For some, that could be a night out with the boys, chugging beers and having a laugh.
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Visit betterhelp.com slash serialkiller today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash serialkiller. In addition to these three world-famous letters, there are seven others that are not as well known. On the 6th of October, a letter was received by a local paper
and is believed to have been intended for either Israel Schwartz or Joseph Lavende, both of whom believed to have witnessed the Ripper and gave descriptions of the man they saw to police. Few researchers believe the letter to be real, but it reads as follows. You saw yourself very clever, I reckon, when you informed the police.
But you made a mistake if you thought I did not see you. Now I known you know me, and I see your little game, and I mean to finish you and send your heirs to your wife. If you show this to the police, or help them if you do, I will finish you. It no use your trying to get out of my way.
Because I have you when you don't expect it. And I keep my word, as you soon see and rip you up. Yours truly, Jack the Ripper. P.S. Ah, you see I know your address. There are two known letters that have no postage or exact date of receipt available.
These are short notes, more than proper letters. The first one reads, Beware, I shall be at work on the first and second inst in the minories at twelve midnight, and I give the authorities a good chance, but there is never a policeman near when I am at work. Yours, Jack the Ripper. The second is even shorter and reads,
What fools the police are! I even gave them the name of the street where I am living, Prince William Street. On the 29th of October, 1888, a letter was sent to Dr. Openshaw, the man who performed the medical examination on the portion of kidney received by George Lusk in conjunction with the From Hell letter.
Few researchers give this letter much credence, but it is a bit more known than the other letters, as it is longer, and appears to be written in reddish ink, with crude handwriting reminiscent of the From Hell letter. It reads as follows. Old boss, you was right. It was the left kidney I was going to hopperate again, close to you, hospital.
Just as I was going to draw me knife along of her blooming throat, them cusses of copper spoilt the game. But I guess I will be on the job soon, and will send you another bit of innards, Jack the Ripper. Oh, have you seen the devil with his microscope and scalpel while looking at a kidney with a slide cocked up?
A more recent development is a letter dated the 17th of September 1888. This letter was only recently discovered by Peter McClelland in a sealed report envelope in the British Public Record Office in 1988. Its authenticity is hotly debated, many believing it to be a recent hoax placed surreptitiously in the records.
It was first published in Paul Feldman's Jack the Ripper, the final chapter. The letter reads, 17th September, 1888. Dear Boss, So, now they say I am a yid. When will they learn? Dear old Boss, You and me know the truth, don't we? Lusk can look forever.
"'He'll never find me. But I am right under his nose all the time. I watch them, looking for me, and it gives me fits. Ha-ha! I love my work, and I shan't stop until I get buckled. And even then, watch out for your old pal Jackie. Catch me if you can, Jack the Ripper.'
Sorry about the blood, still messy from the last one. What a pretty necklace I gave her. The final two correspondences I managed to find come in very different formats. The first as graffito, and the second as a poem. The graffito is far more likely not to be a hoax, as it was found almost immediately after a Ripper murder.
On the 30th of September, 1888, Police Constable Alfred Long, 254A, found a blood-stained apron piece in an archway at Wentworth Model Dwellings, Goulston Street, circa 2.55 a.m.
and then a chalked message on the black brick fascia edging of the open doorway which led to the staircase and basement door of number 108 to 119. D.C. Daniel Halse, City, arrived back at Goulston Street sometime after 3 a.m. Police Constable Long returned at circa 5 a.m.
The writing was sponged out at circa 5.30 a.m. Police Constable Long recorded the message as, The Jews are the men that will not be blamed for nothing. P.C. Long's original spelling used J-E-W-E-S, which was corrected to J-U-W-E-S, on the scene by D.C. Halsey.
This correction was noted in P.C. Long's notebook and during the Eddowes' inquest. Dr. Halse transcribed the graffito with a different layout than Long did, with Halse's probably being more true to the original writing on the wall. Finally, we have a poem with no date, allegedly sent to the police. It's probable the poem is a hoax by Donald McCormick.
But we can never be completely sure. It reads, Eight little whores with no hope of heaven. Gladstone may save one. Then there'll be seven. Seven little whores begging for a shilling. One stays in Hennidge Court. Then there's a killing. Six little whores glad to be alive.
One sidles up to Jack, then there are five. Four and whore rhyme all right. So do three and me, I'll set the town alight. Here there are two, two little whores, shivering with fright. Seek a cozy doorway in the middle of the night. Jack's knife flashes, then there's but one.
And the last one's the ripest, for Jack's idea of fun. It's not exactly known just how many letters were received by authorities, media, and other notable figures in Whitechapel during the time of the murders, but it's possible the number may have totaled a few thousand. In the October 20, 1888 edition of the Illustrated Police News,
It was reported that over 700 letters had been investigated by police. Since most of these letters were either discarded, lost, or later destroyed during the bombings in World War II, we can only guess as to what the actual number may have been. But we do know that as many as 300 of the letters are still preserved
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Luckily, their captain had an idea. She used the smart buying tools on Amazon Business so they could work more efficiently and get back to doing what they do best. I know, right? Amazon Business, your partner for smart business buying. And so ends the sixth installment in the saga of Jack the Ripper. Next week, we'll dig into the details of a perhaps lesser-known serial killer.
So, as they say in the land of radio, stay tuned. This podcast had not been possible if it hadn't been for my dear patrons that invest in this show via Patreon. My special thanks go out to those of you that have stayed loyal for a long time. Those of you I would like to give an extra heartfelt thank you to are Sandy, Amber,
Your monthly contributions really help keep this podcast thriving. You have my deepest gratitude. As always, thank you, dear listener, for listening.
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