11 episodes
Ripperature: Building the Myth Gracie Bain
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4.7 • 13 Ratings
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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/
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Episode Nine: From Hell
In the last episode of our detective chapter, we examine the movie From Hell and a fictional version of the historical detective involved in the actual case, Detective Abberline. We also discuss how the victims are portrayed in this film and how they interact with each other and the police. Works Cited can be found on my website. Special thanks to Dana Blair.
Audio Credits
Theme Music: Victor_Natas. "Foggy Passage." Free Sound, 12 December 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/664158/.
Victorian Bell: JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell.” Free Sound, 12 January 2013, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/173932/.
Transition Instrumental: Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her.” Free Sound, 30 March 2023, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681394/.
Background Music: Oymaldonado, “movie score classical music loop part 1.wav.” Free Sound, 24 Oct. 2014, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/252798/.
Awrmacd, “Orchestral Suspense Loop 1.” Free Sound, 6 April 2017, WAV file,(https://freesound.org/s/387223/.
Typewriter: Trollarch2, “Keyboard Typing.” Free Sound, 26 Dec. 2015, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/331656/.
Fellwell5, “Long Sound Typewriter.” Free Sound, 26 Nov. 2012, WAV file, https://freesound.org/people/fellwell5/sounds/170547/.
Creepy Music: Arcane_77, “Intro ou background musical.mp3.” Free Sound, 19 July 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/642503/).
Background Music: Josefpres, “Piano loops 073 octave down long loop 120 bpm.wav.” Free Sound, 2 April 2023 WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681948/.
Romantic Music: EKVelika, “Chonology of love.” Free Sound, 7 January 2021, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/553821/.
Suspense Music: Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” Free Sound, 26 July 2018, WAVE file, https://freesound.org/s/435600/a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer"... -
Episode Eight: Stalking Jack the Ripper
It’s time! In this episode, we discuss the very popular book Stalking Jack the Ripper and how the protagonist/forensic detective is a complicated portrayal of neo-Victorian gender. Works cited can be found on my website.
Voice Actors: Olivia Cash
Audio Credits
Theme Music: Victor_Natas. "Foggy Passage." Free Sound, 12 December 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/664158/.
Victorian Bell: JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell.” Free Sound, 12 January 2013, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/173932/.
Transition Instrumental: Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her.” Free Sound, 30 March 2023, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681394/.
Background Music: Oymaldonado, “movie score classical music loop part 1.wav.” Free Sound, 24 Oct. 2014, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/252798/.
Awrmacd, “Orchestral Suspense Loop 1.” Free Sound, 6 April 2017, WAV file,(https://freesound.org/s/387223/.
Typewriter: Trollarch2, “Keyboard Typing.” Free Sound, 26 Dec. 2015, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/331656/.
Fellwell5, “Long Sound Typewriter.” Free Sound, 26 Nov. 2012, WAV file, https://freesound.org/people/fellwell5/sounds/170547/.
Creepy Music:Arcane_77, “Intro ou background musical.mp3.” Free Sound, 19 July 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/642503/).
Background Music: Josefpres, “Piano loops 073 octave down long loop 120 bpm.wav.” Free Sound, 2 April 2023 WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681948/.
Romantic Music: EKVelika, “Chonology of love.” Free Sound, 7 January 2021, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/553821/.
Suspense Music:Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” Free Sound, 26 July 2018, WAVE file, https://freesound.org/s/435600/.
Street Sound: Guynoland, “a... -
Episode Seven: A Study in Terror
Today, we’ll explore a film called A Study in Terror, which combines two very famous Victorian figures, Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper. In this episode, we talk about how one of the most popular detective figures mirrors what we know about detective surveillance and how the movie treats the victims.
Voice Actors: Ross Schmidt, Dana Blair, Kristen Figgins
Works cited can be found here: https://graciebain.com/works-cited-6/
Audio Credits:
Theme Music: Victor_Natas. "Foggy Passage." Free Sound, 12 December 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/664158/.
Victorian Bell: JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell.” Free Sound, 12 January 2013, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/173932/.
Transition Instrumental: Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her.” Free Sound, 30 March 2023, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681394/.
Background Music: Oymaldonado, “movie score classical music loop part 1.wav.” Free Sound, 24 Oct. 2014, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/252798/.
Awrmacd, “Orchestral Suspense Loop 1.” Free Sound, 6 April 2017, WAV file,(https://freesound.org/s/387223/.
Typewriter: Trollarch2, “Keyboard Typing.” Free Sound, 26 Dec. 2015, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/331656/.
Fellwell5, “Long Sound Typewriter.” Free Sound, 26 Nov. 2012, WAV file, https://freesound.org/people/fellwell5/sounds/170547/.
Creepy Music: Arcane_77, “Intro ou background musical.mp3.” Free Sound, 19 July 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/642503/).
Background Music: Josefpres, “Piano loops 073 octave down long loop 120 bpm.wav.” Free Sound, 2 April 2023 WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681948/.
Romantic Music: EKVelika, “Chonology of love.” Free Sound, 7 January 2021, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/553821/.
Suspense Music: Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” Free Sound, 26 July 2018, WAVE file, https://freesound.org/s/435600/a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="noopener noreferrer"... -
Episode Six: Ripperature Detectives
In our first episode on detectives, we walk through some common detective tropes, the dependence of Ripperature on those tropes, and the dime novel “The Whitechapel Murders: Or, On the Track of the Fiend” (published in 1888).
Works cited can be found here: https://graciebain.com/2024/04/30/works-cited/
Audio Credits:
Theme Music: Victor_Natas. "Foggy Passage." Free Sound, 12 December 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/664158/.
Victorian Bell: JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell.” Free Sound, 12 January 2013, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/173932/.
Transition Instrumental: Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her.” Free Sound, 30 March 2023, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681394/.
Background Music: Oymaldonado, “movie score classical music loop part 1.wav.” Free Sound, 24 Oct. 2014, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/252798/.
Awrmacd, “Orchestral Suspense Loop 1.” Free Sound, 6 April 2017, WAV file,(https://freesound.org/s/387223/.
Typewriter: Trollarch2, “Keyboard Typing.” Free Sound, 26 Dec. 2015, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/331656/.
Fellwell5, “Long Sound Typewriter.” Free Sound, 26 Nov. 2012, WAV file, https://freesound.org/people/fellwell5/sounds/170547/.
Creepy Music: Arcane_77, “Intro ou background musical.mp3.” Free Sound, 19 July 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/642503/).
Background Music: Josefpres, “Piano loops 073 octave down long loop 120 bpm.wav.” Free Sound, 2 April 2023 WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681948/.
Romantic Music: EKVelika, “Chonology of love.” Free Sound, 7 January 2021, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/553821/.
Suspense Music: Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” Free Sound, 26 July 2018, WAVE file, https://freesound.org/s/435600/.
Street Sound: Guynoland, “a... -
Episode Five: The Michaelmas Girls
In our final episode on Jill the Ripper, we examine perhaps one of the more difficult texts, The Michaelmas Girls, to discuss Jill the Ripper’s violence. In this episode, an unofficial detective figure suspects Mary Jane Kelly of participating in the murders. Content note: This novel discusses some deeply upsetting themes about queerness in addition to the already upsetting narrative of the murders. Special thanks to voice actors Jeremy, Dana, and Ross. Works Cited can be found here https://graciebain.com/works-cited-5/
Audio Credits
Street sound: Guynoland, “Horses Pavement Then Cobblestone.m4a,” (https://freesound.org/s/549882/), This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.
Theme music: Victor_Natas, "Foggy Passage" (https://freesound.org/s/664158/), This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.
Keyboard: Trollarch2, “Keyboard typing” (https://freesound.org/s/331656/), This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.
Typewriter: Fellwell5, “Long Sound Typewriter” (https://freesound.org/s/170547/), This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.
Suspense music: Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” (https://freesound.org/s/435600/), This work is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 License.
Transition instrumental: Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her” (https://freesound.org/s/681394/), This work is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 License.
Victorian bell: JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell” (https://freesound.org/s/173932/), This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.
Creepy music: Arcane_777, “Intro ou background musical” (a href="https://freesound.org/s/642503/" rel="noopener noreferrer"... -
Episode Four: Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde
In this episode, Gracie leads you through the cinematic masterpiece Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde, which combines Jill the Ripper with another famous culture-text, Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We talk about the intertextual nature of the Jack the Ripper myth, the “improper feminine,” and the queer potential of this film.
Works Cited can be found here
Audio Credits:
Theme Music:
Victor_Natas. "Foggy Passage." Free Sound, 12 December 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/664158/.
Victorian Bell:
JohnsonBrandEditing, “Ding Ding small bell.” Free Sound, 12 January 2013, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/173932/.
Transition Instrumental:
Nicholas The Octopus Camarena, “To Her.” Free Sound, 30 March 2023, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681394/.
Background Music:
Oymaldonado, “movie score classical music loop part 1.wav.” Free Sound, 24 Oct. 2014, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/252798/.
Awrmacd, “Orchestral Suspense Loop 1.” Free Sound, 6 April 2017, WAV file,(https://freesound.org/s/387223/.
Typewriter:
Trollarch2, “Keyboard Typing.” Free Sound, 26 Dec. 2015, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/331656/.
Creepy Music
Arcane_77, “Intro ou background musical.mp3.” Free Sound, 19 July 2022, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/642503/).
Background Music:
Josefpres, “Piano loops 073 octave down long loop 120 bpm.wav.” Free Sound, 2 April 2023 WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/681948/.
Romantic Music:
EKVelika, “Chonology of love.” Free Sound, 7 January 2021, WAV file, https://freesound.org/s/553821/.
Suspense Music:
Tyops, “Thriller Suspense Theme,” Free Sound, 26 July 2018, WAVE file, https://freesound.org/s/435600/.
Street Sound:
Guynoland, “Horses Pavement Then...
Customer Reviews
Awesome host, awesome show!
I didn’t know much about Jack the Ripper before I found this show, but now I’m so hungry to know more! Gracie breaks everything down so thoroughly and in a way that keeps me wanting more to take in. I can’t wait to keep listening!!
Engaging AND Academic— not an easy feat!
Gracie Bain does an excellent job discussing gender topics through the lens of Victorian culture and fiction, current culture, and the reporting and adaptation of the Whitechapel murders. And— she manages to make it both academic and engaging as a podcast. A great listen— I’m looking forward to the next episode!
Intriguing
Very interesting and intriguing. You were very articulate and enjoyable to listen to, not stodgy. I can't wait for the second episode… On a sidenote, were you sitting there with a bell? Haha