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Ripper Notes sample articles

The following examples of previously published content should give you an idea of the sorts of things you can find in each issue of our magazine. Take a look at what we have to offer in the print journal (links marked with an asterisk go to Casebook: Jack the Ripper for articles we've allowed to be posted there). If you like what you see and want more, you can see how to get a subscription to Ripper Notes.

Heartless: The Evidence for a Copycat Killer (PDF file with layout and images)
By Dan Norder
Many of the key features of later Ripper murders – including the removal of a victim's heart, facial mutilations, and a message written in chalk – were included in inaccurate newspaper reports about the earlier killings. This article was published in issue #28.
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Old Wounds*
By Tom Wescott
This essay from issue #26 compares the wounds made on Ripper victim Polly Nichols to the other murders in the series.
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A Ripper Victim that Wasn't: The Capture of Jane Beadmore's Killer*
By Alan Sharp
Alan examines the case of a copycat murder victim in the middle of the main string of most famous Jack the Ripper killings. This piece ran in the January 2006 issue (#25).
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Grave-Spitting & Other Tall Tales *
By Don Souden
This critical look at some of the dubious news reports and stories that spread about the Whitechapel murders was printed in the October 2005 issue (#24).
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Suspect and Witness - The Police Viewpoint*
By Stewart P. Evans
Leading Ripper author and former London police official Stewart Evans examines George Hutchinson's claims of having seen a man with Mary Kelly shortly before she was murdered to see how they stand up to modern police standards. This article is from issue #23 (July 2005).
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'Considerable Doubt' and the Death of Annie Chapman*
By Wolf Vanderlinden
Re-examining the witness and the medical evidence to try to determine her actual time of death, which, Wolf argues, was more in line with what the police and doctors at the time had thought and not what the coroner and most modern sources claim. This is taken from the April 2005 issue (#22).
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Connecting the Dots: Were the Ripper Crime Scenes Chosen to Form a Pattern?*
By Dan Norder
Some authors have argued that the killer specifically chose the locations of the murders beforehand to outline a symbol of some sort on a map. In the October 2004 issue (#20) Dan Norder examined the claims and explained what the mathematical statistics actually support.
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Lusk Kidney Revelation: A London Hospital Surgeon Speaks
By Tom Wescott
Examining the claims that the Pinchin Street Torso was a hoax by medical students instead of a real murder, with a special focus on what that might mean for the kidney sent with a letter that some believe came from Jack the Ripper. This article is originally from the July 2004 issue.
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The New York Affair, part II
By Wolf Vanderlinden
A deeper look into the murder of Carrie Brown, a prostitute killed in America in 1891 that was believed by some to have been the work of Jack the Ripper. This article originally ran in the January 2004 issue.
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Ripperology, A Term Coined By...
By Stewart P. Evans
This excerpt from our April 2003 issue is a short look at the origin of some of the terms in the Ripper field.
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Patricia Cornwell Delivers a Lecture at the University of Tennessee*
By Scott E. Medine
A first-hand account of the circus atmosphere at a presentation by novelist Patricia Cornwell, as described in the January 2003 issue.
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On the Origins of the Royal Conspiracy Theory*
By Stewart P. Evans
Where on earth did anyone ever get the idea that Prince Eddy and the Masons had anything to do with the case? That's what this October 2002 article by one of Ripperology's premier researchers sets out to answer.
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The Art of Murder*
By Wolf Vanderlinden
Did Walter Sickert base some of his paintings on the victims of Jack the Ripper? Patricia Cornwell uses the idea as one of her arguments for thinking he was their killer. Wolf Vanderlinden explored this topic in the July 2002 issue.
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A Talk with Donald Rumbelow*
By Christopher Michael DiGrazia
An April 2002 interview with the author and former City of London policeman who became one of the greatest living authorities on the Ripper case.
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Long vs. Cadoche*
By Dave Yost
The two main witnesses to events surrounding the death and mutilation of Annie Chapman present facts that conflict with each other -- or do they? A July 2001 article explores the controversy.
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Jack Through the Looking-Glass*
By Karoline Leach
An expert on Victorian children's author Lewis Carroll defends him against accusations that he was Jack the Ripper. This article originally appeared in the January 2001 issue.
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Another Look at the Lusk Kidney*
By Christopher Michael DiGrazia
A March 2000 essay sorting out the facts from the legends concerning the partial kidney delivered with a letter claiming to be from Catherine Eddowes' killer.
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