If you come out of London’s Tower Hill Underground station any time in the early evening, you’re sure to see murder enthusiasts milling around waiting for one of several Jack the Ripper tours to start. My mother and I were two such people, eager to retrace the steps of one of the most notorious killers of all time. (She’s a little obsessed. I think she’s read everything on the subject.)
This is NOT the tour I took, but I couldn’t resist picking up their brochure.
Ironically, most Jack the Ripper Tours are actually about the victims, not Jack. It only makes sense; we don’t know who Jack is. Instead, we can examine the lives of the victims and try to glean his identity through that.
So we walked through the streets of East London and Whitechapel, hearing about the lives of Londoners during that time. The economy was disastrous. London was suddenly bursting at the seams with more people than it could support. Not surprisingly, many women turned to drastic measures to feed themselves and their children. Men did, too no doubt, but the tour is about the women who turned to prostitution to survive.
Many of these women were over 40, left alone for one reason or another to make ends meet. It was a brutal time. Even finding a place to sleep at night was difficult. Many people had to make a choice with the few pence they had: should they spend those few coins on shelter for the night? Maybe something to eat? Or a bottle that might help them get through whatever means necessary to earn a few more pence for a bed that night? Living was a vicious cycle for the poor of the time.
Mornings followed desperate nights, and suddenly the murdered bodies of unfortunate women started turning up.
Their bodies were found posed in lewd position. They were degraded even in death. There were the “canonical five” victims: Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly – all believed to have been murdered by the same man, but there were other murdered women in Whitechapel during the time who might have been victims of Jack the Ripper, too.
We retraced the steps in which the bodies were discovered. We gazed at the spots where these murders had occurred and tried to picture what London was like at that time.
At one point, we wandered down an alley where there were once shops and businesses. In one place, it was believed that Jack the Ripper left a note in blood on the wall. The sheriff ordered it washed off before further investigation could unfold. The alley is graffitied now. Sinister and oddly quiet in this off-the-beaten track spot in London.
We passed one of the oldest pubs in London. It existed even then and was full of rowdy men outside smoking and drinking despite the cold night. We passed buildings that were dormitories/rooming houses at the time. We saw pictures of life in London during that time.
We listened to theories of who has been suspected as Jack the Ripper over the past century and what progress is being made on this still-debated guessing game. But we still don’t know much about Jack the Ripper. I doubt we ever will. But we can remember his victims and imagine the terror that must have gripped the city until the killer suddenly disappeared. But I don’t think we’ll ever know it all.
Are you fascinated by Jack the Ripper?
Browsing The Atlas 
Made me stop and think how morbid tales grab our imagination, Juliann, providing grist for the media and true-crime novels. Did walking through the area make you feel uncomfortable? –Curt
I didn’t feel uncomfortable, especially since I was walking in a group. But if I’d been alone, I would have avoided the rowdy narrow alley full of drinkers.
So harsh to learn more about the women who were murdered by Jack the Ripper and that he was never found. Scary tour! Interesting though to see how the neighborhood has changed or not so.
I was glad it paid tribute to the victims. It made it much more personal, thinking about who they were and the bad luck that brought them to their fateful ends.
Very fascinating. I knew his victims were women but I didn’t know they were over 40 and placed in lewd positions. It is very disturbing to know we never knew who he was. All that said, this tour is very interesting to me and one I would like to check out on my trip to London!
It was fascinating, Heather. I learned so much! We always hear the name “Jack the Ripper,” but never learn all the sordid details of HOW he committed his crimes.
I love walking in the footsteps of history, and using a guide is best though it might make for a crowded tour. That is a vivid description of the London of the times. It wasn’t alone in that of course.
No. Surely not. In fact, I just read another book (The Floating Brothel) set in London a hundred years before and it sounded very much the same.
Dublin was far worse, by all accounts. I’ll look up that book.
There is just something mind boggling about the mind of a killer like that. I never had a chance to do this tour in London but, it sounds interesting yet punishing at the same time.
My mother has read everything she can get her hands on about Jack the Ripper, so I knew a walking tour was a MUST! We were not disappointed.
I love a good unsolved mystery. The macabre always attracts me. We
took a night walk through Florida swamps where Ted Bundy held his last
victim captive for a week. It was one of the spookiest things we ever
did. Walking through the streets of London at night, retracing the
Ripper’s steps would be pretty spooktacular.
Such an interesting, gruesome, and terrifying story isn’t it? (Especially, to think it’s so much than a story and actually real history). I went on a Jack the Ripper tour in London on my first visit way back in 2008 or whenever it was… it was super creepy but just amazing to hear!
I agree. Fascinating and creepy! Plus, we learned a lot about the London of the time. All-around great tour.
Fascinating! I really enjoyed your post — and you did a great job of taking me back to 19th century London and making me think about the hard economic realities of that period. I think most of us find the macabre interesting — and Jack the Ripper’s story has certainly lasted in our collective imagination for a very long time.
Thanks, Ann. It really helped me appreciate the tour by having our imaginations taken back to what London was like at the time.
Just imagining it in my mind gives me goosebumps! But as a person who is interested in forensic psychology, I would like to know more about what exactly Jack the Ripper was thinking. Even though we don’t know who he is, looking into the victims definitely helps us get a glimpse into his mind.
Exactly! I think that’s what I loved about the tour. It delved into the evidence one could surmise from the victims’ lives and who might target them. Fascinating!
I’ve always been fascinated by the dark and odd things of the world including serial killers. I’m not sure what that says about me but oh well. Jack the Ripper has of course then always been interesting to me and even more so since he was never caught. I’d love to do this tour while in London.
It’s hard not to be fascinated by the dark side of humanity. At least, to me.
My hubby thinks I am weird but I have always been fascinated by serial killer stories including Jack the Ripper. At one time I wanted to be a crime scene investigator! Also, if I ever write a piece of fiction, it is definitely going to be a serial killer book!
I wanted to do that, too, Andi! Or be a forensic psychologist! I actually took a Criminal Justice class in college on Serial Killers. It was fascinating.
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