There were 5 Ripper murders in Whitechapel in 1888 and all of the victims were prostitutes. The murders attracted so much attention because of the how the Ripper killed his victims, he slashed their throats, ear to ear, and in many cases mutilated their bodies and left them in plain sight. In one case, Mary Kelly, the fifth victim of the Ripper was found in a rented room at a lodge by John McCarthy, who just wanted to collect rent from her but her body was mutilated beyond recognition. A report said that ‘the body was lying naked in the middle of the bed and the surface of the abdomen and thighs had been cut off and the internal organs removed.’ Mary Kelly was the most gruesome of all the murders and that’s why they attracted so much attention. There was one victim however, who didn’t have her body mutilated and her name was Elizabeth Stride.
Elizabeth Stride was 45 years old and had light brown curly hair and earned her living from sewing and cleaning and occasional prostitution. She was also found dead with a slashed throat, ear to ear, but there were no disfigurements on her body. It was believed when Louis Diemschutz, a salesman of jewellery, found the body when his horse was startled and stopped on the street at Dutsfield Yard and scared away the Ripper before he could mutilate the body. One other intriguing event that happened just before the third victim was the ‘Dear Boss’ letters. At first, the letters were not taken seriously because many other letters were sent to the papers claiming to be the notorious serial killer but the ‘Dear Boss’ letter was taken much more seriously after the next two murders, which appeared to confirm some of the details mentioned in the letter such as clipping the ladies ears off. The nature of the murders was one reason why they attracted so much attention but there was also another sort of nature that gripped the nation.
The nature of people in the 1800s and even people now were attracted to the murders because of human nature, for some perverse reason people wanted to know all the details of the horrific and gruesome Ripper murders. People were curious and ‘enjoyed the thrill’; this also shows when we watch modern horror films today such as ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’. These and many other films show the mind of a serial killer and were highly successful. People wanted to know all about the murders and the press really assisted with revealing them to everyone.
The final reason why the Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention was that the events in Whitechapel were recorded in the newspapers all over the world. Since a large proportion of the population could read and write because of The Education Act of 1870 which made it basic schooling compulsory for all, more people were interested in the murders and this increased the number of eager readers who wanted to read about exciting stories. The Ripper murders were a marvellous opportunity for newspapers to exaggerate and change stories of the murders so that their papers would sell and they were responsible for creating many myths around the Ripper such as the ‘bogey man’.
To conclude, there were several important reasons why the Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention such as human nature, the role of the press and the murders themselves. The role of the press was the most important reason because the events were reported around the world and gripped the imagination of people and they wanted to know what was going on in this small are of London. The role of the press is also more important than the politics because the politics only happened in England whereas the press were publicising the murders worldwide.
