American Conference 2016

[ChrisGeorge]

Baltimore Jack the Ripper Convention, April 8-10, 2016

Hi all

Glad to see that there is already interest in our upcoming event. As many of you will know, I was an organizer of the first American Jack the Ripper conference, held by Casebook Productions, Inc., in Park Ridge, New Jersey in April 2000. I have been thinking for some time of reviving the U.S. conferences and believe that this is now the time.

Well, I inked some paper this morning. The conference venue, where the main talks will take place, will not be, as earlier anticipated, at the University of Baltimore but rather at the Maryland Historical Society in the France Hall Auditorium in Baltimore's historic Mount Vernon District. See photographs below. We will have talks in France Hall 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday, April 9 and 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm Sunday, April 10, with a bus tour of downtown Baltimore on Sunday morning for those who don't have sore heads from Saturday night festivities.
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Here is what we will be offering:

• Friday night reception at local hotel.
  
• Weekend of expert talks and panel discussions
  
• Exclusive Baltimore USA Ripper conference 2016 conference pack
  
• Buffet lunch on Saturday and Sunday
  
• Delegates only 3-Course banquet Dinner Saturday night
  
• Saturday night entertainment
  
• Sunday morning bus tour of Baltimore Ripper and Poe sites and other sites of historical interest
  
• Tea/coffee or soda breaks throughout the weekend
  
• Discounted room rates at local hotels.

Any questions, address them to me via editorctrip@yahoo.com or via private message.

Really looking forward to welcoming many of you April 8-10, 2016 in Baltimore!

Thanks

Chris



France Hall dinner at MdHS



Park Avenue Entrance, MdHS

More photographs of events at MdHS -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/119412551@N02/albums

[ChrisGeorge]

Awesome news!

Given that it is in Baltimore, maybe a speaker with some expertise on Poe? It is unfortunate that he died long before the murders, but the circumstances surrounding his death are mysterious....And while he would be rather old to be the Ripper, he wouldn't be much older than William Gull. Given these facts, I find it curious that he cannot be placed - alive - outside of Whitechapel during the dates of the murders. He cannot be excluded.

Seriously, given his literary genre, this would be a nice extension for the conference to pursue. I actually have an expert who has published two books on Poe in mind; if the organizers are interested please feel free to contact me.

Hello Barnaby

Given that Edgar Allan Poe passed away in October 1849 I think we can safely remove him from the list of Jack the Ripper suspects. I am planning to give a talk at the conference on the last days of Edgar Poe. There are a couple of theories that have it that Poe's enemies may have done away with him... or perhaps he just died of natural causes. In any case, we will talk about all the possibilities.

Best regards

Chris

[Steadmund Brand]

Sounds great!!! I am excited already... as I said work and health permitting I will be there..my 1st Ripper conference...

Any idea what hotel yet? I may think about booking well in advance


Steadmund Brand

[ChrisGeorge]

Sounds great!!! I am excited already... as I said work and health permitting I will be there..my 1st Ripper conference...

Any idea what hotel yet? I may think about booking well in advance


Steadmund Brand

Hi Steadmund

The Wyndham Hotel is on Cathedral Street is just round the corner from the Maryland Historical Society but we are looking into which hotels may give us the better deal on rooms and the cost of the Friday evening reception and Saturday night banquet. We should have that information by the end of next week so hold off for now in booking your hotel.

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi all

As noted, in the next few days we will be tying down what local hotels have to offer us as to reduced rates for delegates attending the April 8-10 event as well as where the Friday evening reception and the Saturday night banquet will be held. Stay tuned. Also information on speakers will be available shortly.

Best regards

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

We are looking at different options for entertainment on the night of the April 9 banquet. A possibility might be actor Tony Tsendeas or some other performer or performers. Nothing definite decided yet -- we are still analyzing prices for the weekend. Stay tuned. Meanwhile there is this event happening this Saturday in Baltimore, just to wet your appetite.

Actor Tony Tsendeas reads from "Berenice" at Edgar Allan Poe's grave at Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, Fayette and Greene streets, Baltimore

THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2015 beginning at 3:30 pm!

BALTIMORE PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF POE AT HIS GRAVE!

THIS UNIQUE TRIBUTE to Poe will feature popular actors Tony Tsendeas and Don Mullins.

THEY WILL PRESENT dramatic readings (excerpts) from many of Poe's most famous tales of horror, terror and science fiction. These tales include: "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Berenice," "The Black Cat," "The Premature Burial," "Some Words With a Mummy," "Liegia," "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Tell Tale Heart," and many more!

SEVERAL OBITUARIES OF POE will also be presented.

WE ARE PRIVILEGED AND EXCITED to include several cast members of MESMERIC REVELATIONS! OF EDGAR ALLAN POE who will delight us with excerpts and comments from this outstanding event coming to the Maryland Historical Society! Word is Virginia Poe will visit us from her grave and enchant us with her presence! We're waiting to find out who the other person is from Poe's life that will return to our world and help us honor Poe.

ACTUALLY WE AREN'T BEING VISITED by the ghosts of people that knew Poe unfortunately. Several actors from this outstanding interactive production will attend this event and present brief excerpts from this interactive play being held at the historic Enoch Pratt House sponsored by the Maryland Historical Society. Click on the link for the gruesome details.

http://www.myedgarallanpoe.com or http://mesmericrevelationsofpoe.tumb...ricrevelations

A GRUESOME EDGAR ALLAN POE DEATH CAKE will be given to a unlucky member of the audience. The chef at the House of Usher is making this cake and he assures us it's to die for!

A WREATH LAYING CEREMONY will conclude the tribute. Visitors are invited to bring their own flowers and wreaths for the ceremony.

THIS EVENT IS FREE but standing room is limited. Gates will be closed at 2 pm to allow the sound system to be installed. The gates will reopen at 3 pm.

THE EVENT WILL LAST approximately (depending upon the actors intensity and frenzy as they present the readings) one hour and 20 minutes.

WE ARE STILL COLLECTING donations to help fund this event and the January Birthday Tribute to Poe. Please consider a donation to help us continue to pay homage to Poe in this unique way. Baltimore is the ONLY Poe city that can do this kind of tribute because we have Poe's BODY!

The producers of the upcoming PBS film EDGAR ALLAN POE: BURIED ALIVE have made a generous offer to donate $250! IF we can raise matching funds by Friday, October 9th! Will you help us reach that goal?

Please help us make this match to successfully finish the fund-raising drive for our events!

CLICK HERE TO CONTRIBUTE: http://www.gofundme.com/s543f947.

THERE WILL BE UPDATES and additions to this program. Visit "Edgar Allan Poe: Evermore" for regular updates.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS regarding this event or wish to donate privately please contact me at: purplerustling@juno.com.

IF YOU WISH To send a check, bypassing the online donation, send it to: Jeff Jerome, PO Box 1226, Severna Park, MD 21146.

PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT DONATIONS WILL BE USED FOR THIS EVENT AND THE JANUARY GRAVESIDE BIRTHDAY SALUTE TO POE.

ALL OF US HERE at Evermore thank you for your continued support throughout the many years of these popular events.

Your most obedient servant,

Jeff Jerome
Curator Emeritus
Formerly with the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum

[ChrisGeorge]

At our upcoming Baltimore conference, April 8-10, 2016, Bob Anderson is going to do a presentation on the Long Island Serial Killer, an active serial killer case. Mark Ripper is also contributing but may not be with us in person. Bob says, "There are four of us working. Katja the AV, and Livia Trivia as well. We call ourselves Team Syphilis as a joke but we work as a team.....talk almost every day about a talk once we commit. And Trevor Bond helps with medical aspects and Jon Rees with psych issues." [As many of you may recall, Bob made a presentation on syphilis in the East End at the Salisbury convention last fall.]

As I told Bob via Facebook messaging, "As many people collaborate on the overall event and each individual session it can only improve the quality of what we have to offer."

Other speakers being signed up as we speak as we continue to crunch the numbers in terms of Friday night reception, Saturday night dinner, and hotel prices. Full details to follow.

Best regards

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

Newly added speaker for our Jack the Ripper Conference in Baltimore, April 8-10, 2016:

Sarah Beth Hopton, Ph.D. (above) speaking about "Jill the Ripper."

Dr. Hopton is the author of the upcoming book, Woman at the Devil’s Door: The Complete Case of the Hampstead Murders, about executed killer Mary Pearcey due to be published before the Baltimore convention.

See http://www.marypearcey.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJR1wbW_tYc

Full details on the April event to follow soon.

[Shaggyrand]

Just wondering if you'd considered something covering or arranging to see The Nutshell Studies. Not connected to JtR but since they are in Bawlmer and fascinating in their own right.

[Robert St Devil]

I shall be there! Let's hope the Orioles or Nationals are in town, as well.

Orioles in a series against the Rays that weekend! Camden yard, Antietam, Poe. I might just crash at Ray Lewis' house for kix. See everyone there!

[ChrisGeorge]

Newly added speaker for our Jack the Ripper Conference in Baltimore, April 8-10, 2016:

JtR Forums site owner Howard Brown (above) speaking about "Diamonds in the Rough: A Positive View of the Contemporary Papers."

Howard has done considerable work on how the case and the phenomenon of "Jack the Ripper" were discussed by the press in the late Victorian era.

Full details on the April event to follow soon.

[ChrisGeorge]

Upcoming at the Jack the Ripper Conference in Baltimore, April 8-10, 2016:

Historian Christopher T. George will talk about "The Last Days of Edgar Allan Poe -- Murder or Something Else?"

As a resident of Baltimore, Chris has taken a long-time interest in the mystery of Poe's death -- as interesting in many ways as the tales of mystery that Poe wrote.

Full details on the April event to follow soon.

[

Chris George, Denise Lescano, and Ellen Flattery at Edgar Allan Poe's original grave at the Westminster Burying Ground, Baltimore.

[bigjon]

Just wondering if you'd considered something covering or arranging to see The Nutshell Studies. Not connected to JtR but since they are in Bawlmer and fascinating in their own right.

If they are included, that will make me very jealous!

[ChrisGeorge]

Just wondering if you'd considered something covering or arranging to see The Nutshell Studies. Not connected to JtR but since they are in Bawlmer and fascinating in their own right.

If they are included, that will make me very jealous!

The Nutshell Studies are kept in the Maryland Medical Examiners office in the University of Maryland BioPark in West Baltimore, not too far from Poe's grave and the Poe House, appropriately enough. The Nutshell Studies, miniature dioramas of crime scenes, are normally off limits to the public and I am not sure if they will feature in the conference or not but it's an idea, so thanks for bringing up the topic, Shaggyrand. Here is a video about the State Medical Examiners office which also covers the Nutshell Studies.

https://vimeo.com/70579971

Best regards

Chris

[ChrisGeorge]

An interesting essay about Edgar Allan Poe and Baltimore written by poet Michael Fallon for Loch Raven Review, of which I am one of the editors. Enjoy.

http://www.lochravenreview.net/2008Summer/fallon.html