Is Jack the Ripper Real?

Perhaps one of the most shocking claims ever to surface regarding the Ripper case is the question if Ripper was a real person. Although not the kind of shock you’d get if you found out a suspect like Van Gogh was the actual killer, it is surprising nonetheless.

In short, yes, Jack the Ripper did, in fact, carry out the heinous crimes in the East End of London in 1888. There’s too much evidence to suggest otherwise, but the real question we should be asking is not of the Ripper’s identity; rather, was there more than one Jack the Ripper?

Crime was no stranger to residents living in the East End at this time; in fact, it had arguably become notorious for high crime rates, not to mention prostitution and violence. However, even with this in mind, the Ripper murders still caused a stir amongst the public.

Considering this, what is the probability that there could have been more than one Ripper? Well, we suppose, just as much as the possibility that each suspect on the list holds. Here’s why:

Eleven years ago (2004), the BBC published an article claiming that it is indeed possible more than one Ripper existed, partly because of the timings of the double murder event, where the bodies were found with as little as 12 minutes between them.

Trevor Marriott commented: “It is highly unlikely that the murderer would have stopped a second time to murder a second victim in such a short space of time.”

Is this the only reason to believe that there could have been multiple Rippers, all with similar methods of murder? Well, we’ll let you answer that after we’ve taken a look at the letters sent, claiming to have been from the killer.

During the Ripper’s reign, there were several marks left behind in the form of graffiti and letters. Three of the most famous letters received at the time of the case include the Saucy Jack Postcard, the Dear Boss letter and, of course, the From Hell letter.

Interestingly, it is said that the From Hell letter was full of grammatical errors whilst the former two provided above were much more literate, which could indicate a completely new character joining the crime scene.

Still, the Ripper murder remains unsolved, and if you have any of your own theories to share, be sure to let our team know on one of our tours!