The Ghost of.....

[Uncle Jack]

Hi Addy,
I don't expect anyone to believe me at all but I do think that I have some sort of psychic ability (not on the scale of getting names and such like some) and I went on a walk around three of the five C5 sites (Nichols, Stride and Eddowes) and "felt" who I took to be JTR at the Nichols and Eddowes sites but not at Stride's. I definately felt that he was all around the murder sites and Whitechapel in general but at Henriques Street it was, pardon the pun, dead. I deffo got the impression he did not commit the Stride murder. The man who I took to be the Ripper continually masked himself.

[tnb]

Maybe it is the ghost of the unfortunate John Openshaw, killed by the crewmembers of the barque Lone Star in 1887 after he went with his frightening problem to 221 B Baker Street in THE ADVENTURE OF THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS.

Jeff

Thinking about it, I prefer that version Jeff!

[Mayerling]

Maybe it is the ghost of the unfortunate John Openshaw, killed by the crewmembers of the barque Lone Star in 1887 after he went with his frightening problem to 221 B Baker Street in THE ADVENTURE OF THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS.

Jeff

[tnb]

Druitt did not jump off Westminster Bridge - he drowned further downriver.

Jeff

To be fair there is an 'urban myth' that 'Jack the Ripper' (clearly as Druitt) jumped off a bridge in central London, although it is usually stated to be Blackfriar's Bridge, rather than Westminster.

Where it comes from - being palpably false - I have never been able to figure out, although I reckon we might be looking at a 'chinese whispers' style tale coming from the ticket from Blackheath found in his pocket, and also perhaps the proximity of his chambers.

I have always felt that this myth was probably the 'inspiration' (debatable that there was any) behind 'Terror at London Bridge', which of course gave us a third bridge.

[Mayerling]

Druitt did not jump off Westminster Bridge - he drowned further downriver.

Jeff

[Rubyretro]

well, we're certainly not lacking limestone in Provence: the Pope's Palace is built of it. It's right next to the Rhone. The Camargue isn't lacking water either...infact I should think Arles must be built of limestone from the quarries at Les Baux, and that's on the edge of the Camargue....no ghosts though.

[Mishter Lusk]

I can tell you the people who work in the brewery where Hanbury Lane once was might have thought they saw Annie Chapman after testing out one too many of their products

[c.d.]

Per the Ghosthunters - Proximity to water and limestone can spur paranormal activity. I have also read that on the internet.

c.d.

[bolo]

Hi Ruby,

I think you've got a point there. It's the same over here, the number of ghost sightings and haunted places is near zero, except for some parts of rural Frankonia around my hometown Nuremberg with an orthodox Catholic and traditionally superstitious population.

Maybe that is the reason why every other pub in England supposedly is haunted, the owners know about the popularity of ghost stories over there and try to cash in on it. Over here, you'd be hard-pressed to sell a single pint of beer with a ghost story, people would laugh you out of your own pub.

Regards,

Boris

[Rubyretro]

How come we don't have any ghosts that I've ever heard about in Avignon -nor anywhere else in Provence, that I know of ? Including the Pope's Palace.

I once was fascinated by this question and asked everybody I knew for Ghost Stories, everywhere I went :

Loads of stories in the UK, Brittany, the Massif Centrale, Thailand..none in Provence, Portugal, Spain (or if they are, only cited by Brits).

Conclusion : Ghosts only exist in cultures where people are brought up to believe in them. Funny that.

[c.d.]

I watch "Ghosthunters" on TV. They are always explaining the difference between a residual haunting and an intelligent haunting. Residual hauntings are just leftover energy from some event that plays itself out over and over again like a tape. An intelligent haunting is the actual spirit of a person and it is possible to communicate with them.

So sayeth the Ghosthunters. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

c.d.

[Addy]

Again, personally I feel it is more the idea of what has happened in that spot and fantasy running wild, than real hauntings. And ofcourse there are people who like the attention or try to lure people to places where they have to pay to hear about ghosts running around.

I hope the victims of JtR have more peace than that. Imagine being murdered in such a way and then having to hang around that particular spot forever.

One thing I do wonder: why aren't there more stories about Ripper ghosts than the guy jumping off the bridge? If anyone would be haunting Whitechapel you would think it was him.

Greetings,

Addy

[packers stem]

Don't know about these sightings but i did see the 'most haunted' jtr special a few years ago.Derek Acorah went off on a James Maybrick trip at the end.It was quite funny really.I think he was dropped from the program after that

[Uncle Jack]

I have taken a great interest in hauntings around the murder sites and connected locations and from the top of my head, these are some that may be of interest to you......

The ghost of Mary Ann Nichols has been seen on Durward Street, apparently she glows.

The brewery that is built on the sight of Annie Chapman's murder was/is haunted by a woman in victorian clothing and it is believed to be Annie Chapman. Some people report hearing the sounds of the murder also.

Mitre Square is haunted by the residual playback of Catherine's corpse, which has been seen around the area where she was murdered. A monk also haunts the square.

Not sure if the scene of Mary Kelly's murder is haunted now but supposedly the people who lived in her room afterwards (and before it was demolished) claimed it was haunted so if those stories are true, chances are that the area still habits the ghosts.

Also a guy (can't remember his name) claims the ghost of Mary Kelly follows him around when he visits Whitechapel. It is also believed by some that if you visit Kelly's grave that you feel her presence.

Other hauntings and ghost sightings that are Ripper connected are the supposed ghost who is seen jumping of Westminster Bridge. Some specualte that the ghost is Druitt.

The board school on Durward Street (right next to the Nichols murder scene) is haunted by the ghost of a hanging boy.

The London Hospital is haunted by a grey lady

A lot of the Ripper-related pubs are haunted including the Ten Bells, the Blind Beggar and the Commercial Tavern.

88 Newark Street, Whitechapel, was the scene of an infamous poltergeist outbreak.

Close by to Mitre Square is the Wood Street Compter (a type of prison which was demolished) but the cellars remain and are haunted by something invisable that pushes people and whispers.

This is a lot of what I know so hope that all helps Clark.

[Rubyretro]

Then again, who knows, perhaps Hamlet was right: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."...

There are load of videos on Youtube purporting to show the 'spontaneous' ghosts of Kurt Cobain, Elvis etc, when 'innocently' filming their homes..

It's just down to c**p filming.

I don't believe in ghosts (living in Europe and knowing people of different
nationalities, how can one explain that ghosts are only ever seen by people from countries/regions where 'ghosts' are part of the cultural tradition ?).

And yet..and yet... my Grand-ma (the most unimaginative and down to earth,
practical, woman), swore that she saw a victorian gentleman cross her garden in Marsh baldon, Oxfordshire, in broad sunlight, in the afternoon, whose glittering polished brass buttons glinted in the sunlight...she said that she found later that there had been a footpath leading through her garden to the local church, and that her dog's hackles had arisen as the 'phantom' passed..

I don't believe in ghosts for every logical reason..but a small doubt persists..

(and viz à viz witness statements like Caroline Maxwells..because I have read others purporting to see a murder victim, after the official point of death, which are difficult to explain..).

I'll go with Hamlet.