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What I don't understander is if she thought to be such a hoaxer, why didn't any of you show up at the WS thing to heckle her off the stage?
No one said she was a hoaxer, ever. I suggested there was something fishy about coming on this site and making bold claims and refusing to try and prove anything. If I came out and said that it wasn't John Wilkes Booth who actually shot Lincoln, but it was my great-great grandfather, but I'm not telling you any details, juts accept that it's true, would you just say, "Cool. I want to believe this."
No one heckled her here, there, or anywhere. She just fled.
Fiona was called names and accused of being a liar. You can only 'accuse' someone of being a liar if you yourself know the truth - perhaps you were the bully!
If you recall, I said it smelled fishy (like kippers). I never said it WAS a hoax. These are two different things. Saying something doesn't seem right is not the same as calling someone a liar, and it was done with the intention of getting her to back up her claims.
I missed the exchanges here when Fiona was posting, so I cannot comment on that, but I was at the WS1888 meeting (and jolly interesting it was too).
This idea that the whole McCarthy clan knew who the Ripper was is nothing unusual. It's quite possible that they believed they knew, but then LOADS of people had their own pet theories, at the time and of course, since.
The City Police letters (for example) are full of claims by the writers that they knew who it was and many name names. I guess it's just another example of that.
The world is littered with people who believe they have the answer - it's the same then as it is now. I've spoken to numerous people who have a family story to tell in regards to the identity of the Ripper -I guess Fiona's is yet another.
Was Lane's talk interesting in an anecdotal way or an evidentiary one? I know she had a photo of McCarthy, but was there really anything of substance, or was it an actress putting on a show for the fans?
Was Lane's talk interesting in an anecdotal way or an evidentiary one? I know she had a photo of McCarthy, but was there really anything of substance, or was it an actress putting on a show for the fans?
Mike
As my memory serves, anecdotal. It was more about the McCarthy family themselves than links to Jack the Ripper. There were photos on display of several McCarthys and Kendalls (obviously including John).
Sure, JTR was mentioned, but one had the feeling that she was there more to talk about the family. Taken with that principle in mind, it was rather successful.
The world is littered with people who believe they have the answer - it's the same then as it is now. I've spoken to numerous people who have a family story to tell in regards to the identity of the Ripper -I guess Fiona's is yet another.
Just an example of the most recent one from last year:
A lady on my tour mentioned that her great-grandmother (who died in the mid-1960s at an extremely ripe old age) lived in Buck's Row at the time of the murders and that after Polly Nichols' death, local rumour had it that a horse and carriage bearing an 'official looking' crest was seen passing through the street that night.
The lady told me this rather quietly (and a tad nervously) at the tour's end. Oral history can be a strange thing - just imagine the reception she would have got had she mentioned it on an internet message-board!
If you recall, I said it smelled fishy (like kippers). I never said it WAS a hoax. These are two different things. Saying something doesn't seem right is not the same as calling someone a liar, and it was done with the intention of getting her to back up her claims.
Obviously, we have differing recollections of the exact verbiage that was used that evening, Mike.
But, the important point is that she was not bullied, by anyone!
With the very first indication that someone in these forums was not going to blindly accept everything that she had to say, ... she was gone!
This idea that the whole McCarthy clan knew who the Ripper was is nothing unusual. It's quite possible that they believed they knew, but then LOADS of people had their own pet theories, at the time and of course, since.
The City Police letters (for example) are full of claims by the writers that they knew who it was and many name names. I guess it's just another example of that.
The world is littered with people who believe they have the answer - it's the same then as it is now. I've spoken to numerous people who have a family story to tell in regards to the identity of the Ripper -I guess Fiona's is yet another.
You make a very good point, John.
An unfortunate aspect of Ms. Kendall-Lane's tenure as a Casebook poster, however, was its remarkable brevity.
No one was at all certain that she was, in fact, who she was claiming to be; and suddenly, ... she was gone!
But, regardless of whether she honestly believed that she knew the identity of 'Jack the Ripper', the manner of her assertion precipitated the scrutiny that was placed upon her.
It should be remembered that this all occurred just a few months after Casebook was able to rid itself of David Moore, aka 'John Drake'.
I swear I read somwhere that Drake's book was going to be released this year finally... I could be wrong, but I just recall that. I'll sniff around a bit. Please don't call me a a hoaxer about this.
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