So what brought you here?

[TomTomKent]

Sorry if this thread is a bit of a dead horse flogged into a gooey mess by previous threads and chatroom conversation... But what drew you fine folks into an interest in JtR, and mysteries, criminals or the macabre in general? I mean I make no qualms about admitting that I am not a crimenologist, academic or even an armchair detective with a personal theory. I'm just a bloke who has an interest in the area. And yes, it can sometimes be a bit of a strange interest to explain:

Person i work with: So what are you reading?
Me: Oh it's called the Monster of Florence. It's about journalists who think they have solved a serial killer case.
Person I work with who is now backing away: Okay.... Bye.

Personally I got interested while I was still young enough to own a paper round that took me about an hour each morning. I had a tape walkman, and was not really into music (besides the average album cost an awful lot of my pay packet for awfully little content). Low and behold "MArtin Fido Investigates..." Double tapes were a third of the price and three times the length. Bargain. The first I bought was JtR, and it was interesting enough to get me to buy a few more. After that I bought more traditional paper books like Zodiac, or True Crime Something Something Something. Which has been a fairly regular habit since. Not my only habit of course. Give me a book with a maverick soldier who plays by his own rules, a drunken cop who believes in Justice over Law, or spaceships, ninjas, zombies or super-types in spandex and I will read it, but now and again I will hunt down a book about a real mystery.

And yes, before you ask, Mr Fido still appears on my ipod, as does the rippercast which piqued my curiosity about this very site.

What about you guys?

[Madam Red]

Who got me into Jack the Ripper was my Dad. When me and my sister were younger and traveling by train, he would tell us these amazing stories that he'd heard somewhere.

On one such ocassion, he told us the story about Jack the Ripper. Before then, I barely recognized the name; I didn't know who he was. Now, even though Dad is a Master Freemason, he held stock in the hypothesis that the murderer was Prince Albert or even the prince's very own doctor. And that's the first Ripper-related story I was ever told.

Afterwards, I was always fascinated by the case whenever it popped into my life. I remember sitting very close to the television, in my pjs, watching an old documentary. Years later, when "From Hell" was in theaters, I was pissed because the movie was rated R and thus I wouldn't be allowed to see it.

I can't recall exactly how it happened, but I was suddenly hooked in my early teens. I would spend hours upon hours reading articles and fiction on Casebook, good thing this site was there. It probably occurred during my fanfiction.net phase, I would spend most of my hours on the Internet in this way. Possibly because I was a Harry Potter fan as well as of other series based in England: I wanted to know everything about London.

From then on, I could never fully abandon my intrigue about the Ripper. I would take long breaks from it, but eventually I would be drawn back like always. There was once a year where I went as Saucey Jack for Halloween.

Recently, my interest arose and exploded, I'm absorbed into the events of late 1888 again. I've gotten into the Kuroshitsuji fandom, a manga set in Victorian London and well renown for its extensive research. I'm cosplaying as Madam Red, {{warning: SPOILER}} one member of the two-person team known as Jack the Ripper, {{SPOILER over}} and I want to know everything about this case. I would also like to write essays and fiction about it.

[Madam Red]

Also:
It's kinda hilarious to see me correct my Dad about Jack the Ripper. "That theory is the weakest of them all, Dad," I'll sigh.

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi all,

Being a metalhead child of the 80's, I've always had an interest in serial killers, but it wasn't until 1998 when I stumbled across David Abrahamsen's book on the Ripper in a used bookstore that I became 'hooked'. I checked out other books at the library and found Casebook.org. This was actually the first website I visited on the internet, if you can believe it, and still the one I visit most often.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[coral]

My interest started after reading Dan Farson's book. But it didnt really kick in until I found myself chauffering my ex-husband to 2nd hand book fairs where he was searching for old books on sport - not my cup of tea. I decided to start my own collected of JTR books. I now have a massive collection - sadly I have not found the time to read them all.

Coral

[SaraCarter33]

Hi you all new here btw.

So what brought me here, my love of history and true crime and my interest in Jack the Ripper, and Mary Kelly, and the other victims .


Please pardon my typing.

[Monty]

Noctural habits bought me here.

Monty

[Stephen Thomas]

So what brought me here, my love of history and true crime and my interest in Jack the Ripper, and Mary Kelly, and the other victims

Welcome Sara

It's a combination of history and mystery that draws people to this case

Let's call it a mistory (mists of time and all that)

If JTR had been tried and hanged nobody would be interested these days

[SaraCarter33]

That is very true indeed it's nice to talk to fellow ripper buffs.

[Phil Carter]

Hello Sara and welcome!

(No Monty...Sara not related, to my knowledge at least...!)

best wishes

Phil

[richardnunweek]

Hi,
I guess it was my nan, she was born in 1879, and I remember I asked her about the man called Jack The Ripper [ about 1958] and she told me that her mum and dad used to call us in[ her sisters] when bedtime was near, with echoes of 'Before the London bogey man comes out'
She never forgot that , and I guess it all started off from there.
It just highlights how the name 'Jack' was so infamous during the late victorian period.
Regards Richard.

[SaraCarter33]

thanks for the warm welcome phil.

[belinda]

I've always been a ghoulish little creature Started off watching Horror films when I was about three I knew who Dracula was before I learned about god or prime ministers or stuff like that

I'd heard the name Jack The Ripper all my life and I suppose I wondered who he was but I never really thought about it.

Then as a teenager very late one night when the house was quite and even my dog had gone to bed without me I watched Murder By Decree. I thought it was fiction at first by the ebd of the film I'd scared myself stupid. I didn't evenm want to go to bed because I had to walk through the dark Hall

Then it happened I saw the Michael Caine mini series and I was hooked.

Now I get to tell my Spooky Story.

I decided to get a book about Jack The Ripper out of the blue.My dog was sick at the time,she died two weeks later, I was sitting up all night with her and I wanted something to read.
They'd been showing those Leonard Nimoy In Search Of programmes on television all year.

So that night I had gotten the only book they had in the shop and during the night I was peering at bits and pieces of it trying to avoid the photos. I was watching television with my girl while she slept and a programme finished early.I wondered what they do to fill in the gap.

They showed In Search Of Jack The Ripper.

I was absolutely astounded that the programme should come on like that the same day I decided to buy the book.

One almighty coincedence

[Phryne Fisher]

Ar Jack brought me here .

I've always been fascinated by JTR; read lots of books about the case(s) and seen a few excellent (dead scarey) films too. *shudder*

Favourite thread on here these days is the East End Photographs and Drawings thread. That's magnificent!

[Phil Carter]

Very much like Richard, my Gran was born in the heart of the East End in 1888, and introduced me to the subject. She was the youngest child, but remembered vividly the feelings, of her siblings and her mother at the time, and related them to me.

best wishes

Phil