Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
So who exactly was Jack the Ripper?
And does it really matter anymore anyway?
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Controversial Jack the Ripper
- Thread starter Doctor Omega
- Start date
So who exactly was Jack the Ripper?
And does it really matter anymore anyway?
ant-mac
Member: Rank 9
No one special.
Just a reasonably normal looking - from the outside - member of the local community. Someone who lived and work in - and was familiar with - the area in which the crimes took place.
However, it is much more fun to use one's imagination and enjoy all of the works of fiction based upon or related to the phenomenon.
Just a reasonably normal looking - from the outside - member of the local community. Someone who lived and work in - and was familiar with - the area in which the crimes took place.
However, it is much more fun to use one's imagination and enjoy all of the works of fiction based upon or related to the phenomenon.
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
So did he write a diary, or not?
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Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I don't think he did.
I think that this is a sort of clever/sort of stupid hoax that caught people's imagination, then they started making all kinds of crazy excuses about all the stuff that didn't add up, such as a pub that had the wrong name etc.
Some say that it has been conclusively debunked. Others that it has not.
I don't know where I am anymore really with this one, but I am leaning towards it being a hoax.
I think that this is a sort of clever/sort of stupid hoax that caught people's imagination, then they started making all kinds of crazy excuses about all the stuff that didn't add up, such as a pub that had the wrong name etc.
Some say that it has been conclusively debunked. Others that it has not.
I don't know where I am anymore really with this one, but I am leaning towards it being a hoax.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
It seems to me that the "finder" of the diary ended up confessing that it had been a hoax, although a rather good one, using materials from the era.
It is disappointing, because it really is an interesting read. They took the actual life of James Maybrick and the circumstances of his death/murder, and used it to produce this fascinating book. I still have a copy, which my son recently found and was going to read until I told him of its possible untrue nature. He then decided it wasn't worth the time.
I'm also upset that, at one point, they had Anthony Hopkins set to play Maybrick in a feature film version of it, which fell apart not too long before reports of the hoax started.
It is disappointing, because it really is an interesting read. They took the actual life of James Maybrick and the circumstances of his death/murder, and used it to produce this fascinating book. I still have a copy, which my son recently found and was going to read until I told him of its possible untrue nature. He then decided it wasn't worth the time.
I'm also upset that, at one point, they had Anthony Hopkins set to play Maybrick in a feature film version of it, which fell apart not too long before reports of the hoax started.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I do suspect that the hoax itself will become the subject of a dramatisation one day - when the truth of the matter is fully revealed and all guilty parties named.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I got very caught up in that "Diary of Jack the Ripper", James Maybrick business in the early nineties.
It all seems very dubious now though, but - although it is almost certainly a hoax - I think the story of that hoaxing may make a fascinating story in it's own right one day, having all the elements of drama.
As to the actual identity of Jack himself, I agree that it was most likely a non-descript non entity, somebody who perhaps nobody has correctly identified, although a lot of pointers seem to suggest that Aaron Kosminsky fits the bill - or someone like him.
Maybe, like the Loch Ness Monster, the cottage industry is starting to subside now and less and less people are caring about this outdated mystery?
It all seems very dubious now though, but - although it is almost certainly a hoax - I think the story of that hoaxing may make a fascinating story in it's own right one day, having all the elements of drama.
As to the actual identity of Jack himself, I agree that it was most likely a non-descript non entity, somebody who perhaps nobody has correctly identified, although a lot of pointers seem to suggest that Aaron Kosminsky fits the bill - or someone like him.
Maybe, like the Loch Ness Monster, the cottage industry is starting to subside now and less and less people are caring about this outdated mystery?
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Hux
Member: Rank 6
Seems likely that there were quite a high number of prostitute killers around at the time. The Ripper cases may have been both over or under estimated as a consequence.
I think I'm right in saying that they concluded that the Ripper cut the throats of his victims first then he mutilated them. This is why Elizabeth Stride is considered a Ripper victim despite not being mutilated (the belief being that he was interrupted by the chap bringing his horse in).
I don't think it's possible to ever know conclusively.
I think I'm right in saying that they concluded that the Ripper cut the throats of his victims first then he mutilated them. This is why Elizabeth Stride is considered a Ripper victim despite not being mutilated (the belief being that he was interrupted by the chap bringing his horse in).
I don't think it's possible to ever know conclusively.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
A nicely done documentary made for the centenary in 1988.
Hosted by Peter Ustinov.
You may not agree with the panel's conclusions, but still a nice watch.....
Hosted by Peter Ustinov.
You may not agree with the panel's conclusions, but still a nice watch.....
My guess is that is actually a gaseous alien creature that has been stalking mankind since the beginning. It can probably create a hypnotic shield so only the victim sees it as it attacks. It will probably follow mankind into space and continue murdering until some clever starship captain defeats it, perhaps near Rigel or.a pleasure planet nearby.
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
I pity any heartbroken Scotsman who encounters such an entity, lest he be used as a tool for its bloodlust.
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Jack the Ripper
Bloch continued to revisit the Jack the Ripper theme. His contribution to Harlan Ellison's 1967 science fiction anthology Dangerous Visionswas a story, "A Toy for Juliette", which evoked both Jack the Ripper and the Marquis de Sade in a time-travel story. The same anthology had Ellison's sequel to it titled "The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World". His earlier idea of the Ripper as an immortal being resurfaced in Bloch's contribution to the original Star Trek series episode "Wolf in the Fold". His 1984 novel Night of the Ripper is set during the reign of Queen Victoria and follows the investigation of Inspector Frederick Abberline in attempting to apprehend the Ripper, and includes some famous Victorians such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle within the storyline.
Boris Karloff's Thriller - Yours Truly, Jack The Ripper
Season 1 Episode 28 1961 , Hosted by Boris Karloff , 70 years after the Jack the Ripper killings in London, Sir Guy (John Williams) convinces the police that Jack may still be alive, eternally young, and still killing, currently in New York. The director of this episode, Ray Milland, is probably most familiar to genre fans as the star of flicks like 1963's X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes and 1972's campy The Thing with Two Heads, though he has appeared in starring roles and guest spots in many other movies and TV shows throughout the years. The teleplay for this episode is based on a story by Robert Bloch, well known to horror-movie aficionados as the man who penned the novel on which Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was based. Written by: Barre Lyndon, from a story by Robert Bloch Directed by: Ray Milland Starring: John Williams , Edmond Ryan , Donald Woods , and Ransom Sherman Original Air Date: April 11, 1961
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
Jack the Ripper song - Psychoville - BBC
chainsaw_metal1
Member: Rank 8
There's a great short story by Ellison - the name of which escapes me - that involves a man who finds Lon Cheney's makeup kit, and he tries several makeups on, each one turning him into a different character. The last one he does is making himself up as Jack the Ripper, and ends up going out to kill. Fantastic stuff.
If you've not seen Psychoville it's well worth watching.
https://www.imdforums.com/threads/psychoville-2009-2011.4408/
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
From the author of STAR TREK'S "WOLF IN THE FOLD"....
An adaption of Robert Bloch's short story, "YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER"........
An adaption of Robert Bloch's short story, "YOURS TRULY, JACK THE RIPPER"........
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johnnybear
Member: Rank 6
Looks like Gil Kane artwork!
JB
JB
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
It was indeed!
(This lack of credit was my fault, as I stupidly and accidentally omitted the title page when posting it.
I have gone back and added it in now, so you can now see who the artist was.
But this proves you know your artists, JB!
)
Doctor Omega
Member: Rank 10
I can't help but wonder if Bloch got a bad reputation in Hollywood tv land.
EXECUTIVE ON PHONE: "Jeez! Don't let that Bloch guy anywhere near BONANZA! He'll just try to do an immortal Jack the Ripper storyline - again! The guy's nuts!"
EXECUTIVE ON PHONE: "Jeez! Don't let that Bloch guy anywhere near BONANZA! He'll just try to do an immortal Jack the Ripper storyline - again! The guy's nuts!"