Jack the Ripper Walking Tours in Whitechapel

The Autumn of Terror, 1888

Between August and November 1888, five women were murdered in and around Whitechapel in London's East End. Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly are known today as the "canonical five". Their killer was never caught, and the case has never been solved.

Stride and Eddowes were both killed in the early hours of 30 September, within an hour of each other and less than a mile apart. The newspapers called it the "double event", and panic spread across London.

Whitechapel in Victorian times

In the 1880s Whitechapel was one of the poorest and most crowded parts of London. Thousands of people slept in common lodging houses, paying a few pennies a night for a bed. The streets were narrow and badly lit, which made them hard for the police to watch.

Where the name "Jack the Ripper" came from

The name first appeared in the "Dear Boss" letter, sent to the Central News Agency in September 1888 and signed "Jack the Ripper". Most historians now think it was a hoax, possibly written by a journalist, but the name stuck.

In October 1888, George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee received a parcel containing half a human kidney and a letter headed "From hell". It is one of the few letters some experts think could be genuine.

Why the mystery still fascinates

More than a hundred suspects have been named over the years, from local men to doctors and even members of the royal family. Walking the same streets where it happened is the best way to understand the case and make up your own mind.