Why did the Whitechapel murders attract so much attention in 1888?

The Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention mainly because no-one knew who Jack The Ripper was, what he looked like and also because Jack The Ripper was the first serial killer in 1888. The people of Whitechapel were so scared that they did not want to leave their homes because of what the newspaper said, this also shows how the newspapers were exploiting the murders by lying and exaggerating in the story so people would buy the newspaper; because of exploiting the murders they made the people of London panic. Another point that the Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention was the whereabouts were the murders happened. The East End in 1888 was a dangerous place to be and most of the lower class lived there. There were mainly English, Poles and Jewish people living in the East End. The Jews fled and settled in the East End and the Jewish population was on the increase, they had more power, money and numbers than most people who lived in London. Many Poles came to live in the East End because the rents were low and few questions were asked. The inhabitants of Whitechapel, and of other areas, were at first very suspicious of these newcomers. The Metropolitan Police estimated that there were 1,200 prostitutes in Whitechapel and many more women who took clients from time to time to supplement their weekly earnings. There were more than 200 lodging houses, which could sleep almost 9,000 people in long rooms with rows of beds. More than half of the children born in the East End died before the age of five and many who survived were brought up in poverty.

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One of the main factors of interest within the Jack The Ripper case was the unresolved matter of’ who was Jack The Ripper?’ this particular aspect of the Rippers murders gathered quite a following because the possible theories that the killer could have had any medical knowledge would make him a high class member of London’s poor society. The continuing question of the Rippers existence and his taunts shown in his letters to people were sort of inviting, even the press were keen to discover what the Rippers true identity, it looked as if the Ripper was above the law and had found a way around it, laughing and ridiculing even as he told authorities where he lived. The correspondence received that related to the Ripper case (almost all claming to be Jack the Ripper) was massive, and only three are now considered credible, the 'Dear Boss' letter. These, if real, all gain the reader a disturbing if valuable insight into the Rippers mind, suggesting a psychotic and disturbed person and displaying how he derived pleasure from his killings. These details served only to spark more interest in the case of this serial killer. The press reacted to the Ripper with great shock, and any news on it was widely covered. This emphasizes just how much of an impact the killings made on people's lives; normally a murder in Whitechapel would receive no such coverage at all and would often go un-noticed by the press as it was common on a day to day basis, but the ferocity of the Ripper murders caught their attention and after the Nichols murder coverage was widespread the people of London were living in fear except one person, the Ripper. No one had ever come across murders of this kind ever before, another factor that attracted attention was the fact that it was a serial killer committing the murders, i.e. one person killing all the prostitutes. The type of murder also attracted attention due to the fact that the type of murder was also uncommon because it only focused on prostitutes.

The type of crime: sex, violence and death all in one was the ideal combination for the media to exaggerate people’s opinions and make it attract more attention, more reader for the paper. Many could not read or write so they had to rely on stories that had been passed by word of mouth in which much of the originality was lost.

Overall it was through the sensationalism of the press the Ripper had attracted a worldwide audience, the news of the murders had spread worldwide, it was identified as a serial murder because of the way the victims were killed (the MO). There was also a number of letter the police followed, they thought they were significant as they had no other evidence to go off but they may have just been red herrings to throw the police of the trail of who the Ripper truly was.

Shane Lightfoot

Mrs. Mason