Poll What's the most important aspect of Ripperology?

[ChrisGeorge]

Hello K. Permit me to disagree. I have an aversion to such trauma, so such gore NEVER attracted me to the WCM.

The only attraction for me is that someone (as I believed) could kill under the police's nose and get away with it.

Cheers.
LC

Hi Lynn

I would agree that it's not the bloodiness of the crimes that attracted me to the case per se, although the blatant nature of the bloody crimes factor in to how the killer or killers got away with it time and again.

I find that it is the additional details we are learning about the crimes and the peoples involved (victims, witnesses, policemen, etc) that provide the fascination of the case, rather than trying to find out who Jack was, something that many of us agree will most likely never be known.

Best regards

Chris

[Beowulf]

Hi All,

Establish the facts in order to demythologise the case and arrive at the truth.

Regards,

Simon

Yes. That is it.

[Robert]

I'm not attracted to the goriness, but the goriness is an essential factor in giving the case its notoriety and the Ripper his legendary status. If the murders consisted solely in several women being stabbed once, I do not think I'd be as interested. I heard the nickname "Jack the Ripper" when I was a kid, and found out what it meant when I read Farson's book in the early 70s. The fact that the crimes are still unsolved is an essential factor too.

[HelenaWojtczak]

Wow I am so glad I started this - what interesting posts - and the poll results so far are very revealing!

He seems to have made 'friends' quite easily Beowulf, but he only kept them for a few minutes.

I know I shouldn't, but Ruby's comment here literally made me burst into laughter. A quip of sheer genius, Ruby!

Helena

[HelenaWojtczak]

Establishing the facts - but that's not an option on the poll.

Sorry Paul. Had I spent days mulling on it I might have worded the options better.

But, in my defence, I believe that the facts (that is, all the facts that we are now capable of unearthing) HAVE been established, it's just a matter of how we interpret them.

[HelenaWojtczak]

I'm not attracted the goriness is an essential factor in giving the case its notoriety and the Ripper his legendary status.

This may explain why George Chapman's three murders-by-poisoning have never been the subject of a tv drama, book, etc.

[PaulB]

Sorry Paul. Had I spent days mulling on it I might have worded the options better.

But, in my defence, I believe that the facts (that is, all the facts that we are now capable of unearthing) HAVE been established, it's just a matter of how we interpret them.

Not intended as a criticism of you Helena. Simply an observation that I think establishing the facts is the most important aspect of Ripperology and that it wasn't an option on the list.

I wish it was true that the facts had been established, but that's not the case. You've said yourself that your research into George Chapman has exposed and corrected a host of errors; we've barely scratched the surface of uncovering the lives, careers and personalities of the policemen involved in the Ripper case; the lives of the non-canonical victims are still pretty much a closed book; I await with considerable interest the promised in-depth study of Le Grand and such like; and new tit-bits of information, like Farquaharson, emerge every now and again to flesh out and revitalise thinking. But, as said, I'm not being critical of you at all, nor intending any criticism.

[harry]

The most impotant,in my opinion,is the investigation,then and now.For it is still being investigated,a nd many have been and are active in that investigation.

[John Bennett]

The most impotant,in my opinion,is the investigation,then and now.For it is still being investigated,a nd many have been and are active in that investigation.

Very true. And the establishment of what really happened and what continued to happen for many years after the event is what helps us to understand the case.

And it doesn't really matter whether one is trying to identify the killer, or establish whether there was only one, or what the victims did with their lives or what the police knew or didn't know or what the murder scenes looked like or who lived in the area or how many jews there were or whatever, all these 'quests' are part of the investigation that still continues. There's so much to this case that there are oodles of people all working on their own lines of inquiry, furnishing the case with new facts continually. Theories are another thing, but these of course spring from the knowledge that is being acquired.

There is one problem - sometimes it feels like the more information we glean, the more questions are thrown back at us!

JB

[Rubyretro]

There is one problem - sometimes it feels like the more information we glean, the more questions are thrown back at us!

Yes, I think that is the big draw of the whole thing for me.

[Dave O]

Hi John and Ruby,

Yes, but the good thing is that the questions get better.

Best,
Dave

[HelenaWojtczak]

I wish it was true that the facts had been established, but that's not the case.

I actually don't know very much about Ripperology, I didn't realise that new stuff was still coming to light.

I thought that in the case of Chapman, it was because not enough research had been done, which would not only uncover the truth but dispel the myths; whereas in the case of the Ripper, obviously millions of hours have been spent on every aspect of the case, leading me to think that there wasn't anything new to discover.

I stand corrected.

Maybe someone should make a new poll with better options than mine?

[HelenaWojtczak]

there are oodles of people all working on their own lines of inquiry, furnishing the case with new facts continually.

I count myself among them. Some people have considered George Chapman as a viable suspect, but some of the reasons that make him such are in fact based on misconceptions, mistranslations and fabrications.

One of the reasons for writing my book is to present ripperologists with the truth about Chapman, so that when they weigh him up a suspect they are (at long last) working with facts not fiction.

I am surprised that less than half of those who joined the poll said that the most important thing was to identify the Ripper. I kind of expected it to be more like 70%.

I'm pleased that Jenni Shelden chose option three: women's history is my great passion.

Helena

[007]

Well, I was not allowed to cast a vote (I'm assuming because my total post count is so low). But for myself, I would have to go with trying to understand more about abnormal psychology. For some reason, I've always been fascinated by serial killers. I guess part of it is trying to have even a small understanding of why someone does these things. I also wonder how a person can bring themselves to do such things to another person.

[HelenaWojtczak]

part of it is trying to have even a small understanding of why someone does these things. I also wonder how a person can bring themselves to do such things to another person.

I am with you on this one 007. Even if someone deserved it and I was driven to kill them, I could not live with the guilt of what I'd done. How someone can kill an innocent, or a stranger, and live with it, I just don't know.

Helena

PS Sorry, someone else will have to answer the question about your eligibility to vote.