Tweet
Thanks Rob.
Batman, the message "I am going to do one on the 27th [of October]" can only refer to a future victim surely?
I am personally leaning towards chalk writing, next to victims, being a signature of JtR. One that has over time been clouded by misinformation and lack of surviving knowledge about them, the Eddowes one being virtually unknown for 100+ years. Chapmans scene had chalk writing too apparently. And in Chapman's case, the number of claimed victims by the writer is a greater number than known in canon, even if you add Tabram. It would have been rather odd for a trickster to have claimed, in chalk, that a high number of victims would be found in the future when Chapman was only no.2. Jack wouldn't even have attained serial-killer status at that point. So who could really have known that the number was to get higher at this early stage? Most likely the killer I would say.
From dissertations page:
One of the earliest reports of chalked wall writing occurs not long after the murder of Annie Chapman, who was found in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street. Hours after her murder The Echo, Saturday 8 September 1888 reported:
THE “WRITING ON THE WALL”
It is currently reported in Hanbury-street that this morning the following paragraph, written in chalk, was seen upon the wall of one of the back gardens there, and four persons distinctly stated they had actually seen the writing. The words are, “I have now done three, and intend to do nine more and give myself up, and at the same time give my reasons for doing the murders.” Whether there is any truth in the matter remains to be seen.
Notice the "Whether there is any truth in the matter remains to be seen" at the end. It's a cautious article, not a hyped one intended to sell papers like so many ended up being. A cautious article which claims four locals distinctly stated they had seen it.
To me, the article does not smell of BS at all, pardon my French.
Batman, the message "I am going to do one on the 27th [of October]" can only refer to a future victim surely?
I am personally leaning towards chalk writing, next to victims, being a signature of JtR. One that has over time been clouded by misinformation and lack of surviving knowledge about them, the Eddowes one being virtually unknown for 100+ years. Chapmans scene had chalk writing too apparently. And in Chapman's case, the number of claimed victims by the writer is a greater number than known in canon, even if you add Tabram. It would have been rather odd for a trickster to have claimed, in chalk, that a high number of victims would be found in the future when Chapman was only no.2. Jack wouldn't even have attained serial-killer status at that point. So who could really have known that the number was to get higher at this early stage? Most likely the killer I would say.
From dissertations page:
One of the earliest reports of chalked wall writing occurs not long after the murder of Annie Chapman, who was found in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street. Hours after her murder The Echo, Saturday 8 September 1888 reported:
THE “WRITING ON THE WALL”
It is currently reported in Hanbury-street that this morning the following paragraph, written in chalk, was seen upon the wall of one of the back gardens there, and four persons distinctly stated they had actually seen the writing. The words are, “I have now done three, and intend to do nine more and give myself up, and at the same time give my reasons for doing the murders.” Whether there is any truth in the matter remains to be seen.
Notice the "Whether there is any truth in the matter remains to be seen" at the end. It's a cautious article, not a hyped one intended to sell papers like so many ended up being. A cautious article which claims four locals distinctly stated they had seen it.
To me, the article does not smell of BS at all, pardon my French.
Comment