Whitechapel Today – Do Locals Care About the Ripper Connection?

[Marcel Prost]

I was wondering if any members here live in Whitechapel now, or nearby. If so, I’d love to hear your perspective on how the Jack the Ripper story is regarded in the area today.

Is the association with the Ripper something that people in Whitechapel care about, or is it more of an outside/visitor fascination? Do residents feel indifference, or maybe frustration about their neighbourhood being tied so strongly to this very violent piece of history?

Also, what are your thoughts on the Ripper tours that run there every night? Are they seen as a nuisance, as harmless tourism, or as a useful part of keeping local history alive?

I’d be really interested to hear what Whitechapel locals (or those who know the area well) think about all this.

Best regards,
Marcel Prost

[ohrocky]

I don't live in Whitechapel, not even in London, but the Ripper tours are still big business and certainly those using a business to earn money off of the Whitechapel Murders care about it. Take the "Ripper Museum" for example. They have a shop where you can purchase JtR branded water bottles, sweatshirts, playing cards etc.

I've never been and i will never go. It's not my bag.

I have only been on one tour and excellent it was too. A very small group and an exceptional tour leader who really knew his stuff and managed to tell the story without all the dressing up and drama. He was even kind enough to pause the tour so I could pop into the Ten Bells for a jimmy!

I'm not sure if you are in the UK but if you are it is worth a visit and a wander around the area although I believe all the murder sites have now been developed. Much of the area is now commercial.

One place I would recommend is St Patrick's Cemetary in Stratford where MJK was laid to rest and where you will find her memorial stone. I have visited many times on the anniversary of her death and when a pea-souper comes down, and the sun falls, it is very atmospheric.

Welcome to Casebook. I'm looking forward to the responses and input from "the locals"!

[Herlock Sholmes]

I did weaken a few years ago and looked in at the museum but I can certainly understand why someone wouldn’t fancy it. Curiosity got the better of me. The owner (I think) was there but he wasn’t too impressed when me and the friend that I was with pushed him on the subject of the alleged photos of the victims. Clearly they aren’t who they are claimed to be but he was having none of it. Apparently a ‘researcher’ had assured him that they were genuine.

[Geddy2112]

Some locals must appreciate the business. They have Jack the Clipper hairdressers, Jack The Chipper fish n chip shop etc. I'm sure the Ten Bells does well out of it and of course the tours. I believe Whitechapel is mostly a Bangladeshi community nowadays so I doubt they would be bothered or maybe do not even know about Jack.

[c.d.]

They have a shop where you can purchase JtR branded water bottles, sweatshirts, playing cards etc.

I have to admit when first reading that that I was appalled but looking at their website I see these items carry the museum logo rather than being an homage to the Ripper himself. Still not in the best of taste but pretty much par for the course nowadays.

c.d.

[c.d.]

And to showcase my hypocrisy, my first reaction to seeing the tee shirt was hey that's kind of cool. I wonder if they ship to the U.S.?

Hey, at least I admit it.

c.d.

[Marcel Prost]

I don't live in Whitechapel, not even in London, but the Ripper tours are still big business and certainly those using a business to earn money off of the Whitechapel Murders care about it. Take the "Ripper Museum" for example. They have a shop where you can purchase JtR branded water bottles, sweatshirts, playing cards etc.

I've never been and i will never go. It's not my bag.

I have only been on one tour and excellent it was too. A very small group and an exceptional tour leader who really knew his stuff and managed to tell the story without all the dressing up and drama. He was even kind enough to pause the tour so I could pop into the Ten Bells for a jimmy!

I'm not sure if you are in the UK but if you are it is worth a visit and a wander around the area although I believe all the murder sites have now been developed. Much of the area is now commercial.

One place I would recommend is St Patrick's Cemetary in Stratford where MJK was laid to rest and where you will find her memorial stone. I have visited many times on the anniversary of her death and when a pea-souper comes down, and the sun falls, it is very atmospheric.

Welcome to Casebook. I'm looking forward to the responses and input from "the locals"!

I actually live in Lisbon, Portugal, but I had the chance to do a Ripper tour in London many years ago, before the latest changes in Mitre Square, Buck’s Row (now Durward Street), and what used to be Dorset Street.

What struck me most was how important it is to actually be there—to stand in the very spots where the victims once lived out their terrifying final moments, rather than just reading about them in books or seeing them on maps. Walking through those streets gives you a sense of atmosphere and scale that no amount of reading can really capture.

It makes the case feel more tangible and haunting. For anyone with a genuine interest in Jack the Ripper, I think the tour is an essential experience if you ever have the chance to visit London.

[Marcel Prost]

I did weaken a few years ago and looked in at the museum but I can certainly understand why someone wouldn’t fancy it. Curiosity got the better of me. The owner (I think) was there but he wasn’t too impressed when me and the friend that I was with pushed him on the subject of the alleged photos of the victims. Clearly they aren’t who they are claimed to be but he was having none of it. Apparently a ‘researcher’ had assured him that they were genuine.

When I was in London the museum didn’t exist yet, so I never had the chance to visit, but I see what you mean about this place having limited academic depth, and it sounds like your encounter with the owner wasn’t exactly encouraging either. The whole situation with the alleged photos is tricky, especially when so-called “researchers” insist they’re genuine.

[Geddy2112]

And to showcase my hypocrisy, my first reaction to seeing the tee shirt was hey that's kind of cool. I wonder if they ship to the U.S.?

Hey, at least I admit it.

c.d.

Would you like me to get you one? I'm going to the USA in a couple of weeks and can post it from the USA to you when I'm there.

[c.d.]

Would you like me to get you one? I'm going to the USA in a couple of weeks and can post it from the USA to you when I'm there.

A very nice gesture on your part, Geddy, but no thank you. Got a sizable dental bill coming due and more significantly one time casually mentioning I was a Ripperologist on a blind date put a damper on the whole evening ("oh that's uh...interesting...hey, look at the time") so walking around with a tee shirt is probably not loaded with benefits. But thanks again. Appreciate the offer.

c.d.

[Lewis C]

A very nice gesture on your part, Geddy, but no thank you. Got a sizable dental bill coming due and more significantly one time casually mentioning I was a Ripperologist on a blind date put a damper on the whole evening ("oh that's uh...interesting...hey, look at the time") so walking around with a tee shirt is probably not loaded with benefits. But thanks again. Appreciate the offer.

c.d.

I'm pretty quiet in real life about my interest in this case, because I think many people are likely to think that it's an odd thing to be interested in, or at least aren't really interested in talking about it.

[The Rookie Detective]

I'm pretty quiet in real life about my interest in this case, because I think many people are likely to think that it's an odd thing to be interested in, or at least aren't really interested in talking about it.

I second that.

I tend to keep my interest in the case as much to myself as possible, as well as my fascination with cold case true crime in general.

None of my friends or family have an ounce of interest in it, so on that basis it can feel like a quiet lonely road.

But that's why I love this forum; it feels me with a sense of belonging and community.


Sounds daft, but it's true.

[Marcel Prost]

Welcome to Casebook. I'm looking forward to the responses and input from "the locals"!

Thanks, Ohrocky!

[Mike J. G.]

The morbid fascination with murder and murderers isn't really anything new, to be honest, though.

People have been obsessing over killers and murder memorabilia and basically all manner of gruesome **** for generations. We're not much different now to how they were in 1888 when residents of Hanbury street were charging locals to see the murder site, or people were standing around Miller's court trying to catch a glimpse through the window of number 13.

Don't get me wrong, poor taste exists, and so much of this Ripper stuff is done in poor taste, but it's just part of human nature. We no longer turn up for public executions (although if execution ever came back and was made public, I've little doubt that we'd be there with bells on) but we still have a fascination with all things macabre.

In my opinion, it's not immoral. I think as long as you're not getting off on this stuff, and you can empathize with the victims and the dire situations, then an interest in the Ripper, or literally any other well-known serial killer, is pretty normal.

I'd be more disturbed with someone actually refusing themselves a glance over their shoulder at a car wreck, lol.

One thing that does bother me, to be fair, is fictionalised stories based around real murders, and the Whitechapel saga has its fair share of that drivel. That goes for the museum as well, I've no real objection to a museum existing, but one peddling fiction is an insult. I couldn't stand the From Hell film for that reason, or any film based on the Ripper, plus they're generally badly made and the accents make the accents in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula seem Oscar winning.

But we live, we die, we kill eachother, we kill ourselves. We shouldn't ignore death, and we shouldn't necessarily celebrate murder, but we should acknowledge it and shouldn't be afraid of it. If we can laugh at it without demeaning the victims, fair play. Black comedy exists for a reason.

Most of the stuff I'm into is odd, but I'm not that arsed. I find people's interest in most things to be odd, to be honest.

On that note, I can definitely sympathise with the residents of Whitechapel, in that I live in Liverpool, and get sick to f*cking death of the endless Beatles tours, buses and camera welding fans!

Speaking of the Beatles, I often wonder whether Jack also buggered off to another country once he got famous.