Description

Step back in time to the autumn of 1888, when the East End of London was terrorized by an unknown killer. Learn about the brutal murders of at least five women, all poor, working-class prostitutes, in the districts of Whitechapel and Spitalfields.

Hear about the known victims, called the “canonical five”: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. Discover how all were killed with exceptional violence, showing a degree of precision that led many to believe the murderer had medical or anatomical knowledge.

Learn how the name “Jack the Ripper” first appeared in a letter sent to police and the press, supposedly written by the killer himself. Whether genuine or a journalist’s hoax, the name stuck — and became one of the most infamous in criminal history.

The murders revealed the appalling poverty and social neglect of Victorian East London, forcing the public to confront the dark reality beneath the wealth of the British Empire.