Ripperature: Building the Myth

What do you think of when you hear "Jack the Ripper"? In 1888, five women, Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Kelly, were murdered and mutilated in London’s East End. Though scholars debate the validity of this claim, contemporary Victorian newspapers reported the women as sex workers, and that characterization continues today. The Whitechapel Murder narrative is inseparable from sexual violence against women. Jack the Ripper is one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the Western world and is continually referenced in fiction like “The Whitechapel Murders; Or, An American Detective in London” (1889), television shows like Ripper Street (2012-2016), and other media forms. Ripperature: Building the Myth explores fictional adaptations of Jack the Ripper, or Ripperature. Jack the Ripper, a fictitious moniker for an unknown killer, has been credited as the first modern serial killer and, as such, has lasting impacts on true crime discourse, including the ways gender, labor, and violence intersect. Join me as I attempt to answer the questions: Why do we keep fictionalizing these gruesome crimes? Why are we still obsessed with these crimes? What does our obsession tell us about ourselves? For more information, check out my website: https://graciebain.com/