How did JtR see in the dark?

[Batman]

Hey! You guys would make a good team.

I missed that one actually, lol.

[Simon Wood]

Jack wore a magic hat fitted with Aladdin's Lamp, which allowed him to see clearly in the dark without being visible to passers-by.

QED.

[Wickerman]

So, was it the magic hat, or the Aladdins Lamp that made Jack invisible to passers-by?

[Simon Wood]

Magicians never explain their tricks to an audience.

[Monty]

Not necessarily, there were plenty of plain clothes Police around, and if he were a Policeman in plain clothes, he'd also have issue equipment, whistle, truncheon, lamp etc.

No he wouldn’t.

Monty

[John G]

Not necessarily, there were plenty of plain clothes Police around, and if he were a Policeman in plain clothes, he'd also have issue equipment, whistle, truncheon, lamp etc.

A plain clothes officer would be a DC, not a PC.

[Rob1n]

A plain clothes officer would be a DC, not a PC.

Well, I read somewhere that some PCs were in plain clothes, possibly caused by a shortage of DCs? Anyway, does it matter whether they were PC or DC?

[Wickerman]

Magicians never explain their tricks to an audience.

Ah, so is Jack the magician, or Simon?

[Batman]

PC Jack O'Lantern

[Monty]

DCs were not issued with lamps.

Monty

[c.d.]

You can also turn this question around. How did his victims see in the dark? Were they able to navigate freely or were they somehow reduced to taking baby steps with both hands outstretched so they wouldn't bump into something? If conditions were such that his victims could see then it stands to reason that so could Jack.

c.d.

[Sam Flynn]

Brilliant observation, CD, and a point well made.

[c.d.]

Thanks, Sam. Even the sun shines on a dog's ass some days.

c.d.

[Wickerman]

To my mind, the difference might be that for the most part victims knew the streets and alleys in daylight, so can walk them at night without stumbling.

Whether this also applies to the killer will depend on whether he was a local or not.

Where I have reservations is the lamp theory. That the killer might have used one.
I can't imagine the killer having a free hand to hold the lamp while he strangles & mutilates a victim.
If he puts the lamp down on the ground while he opens the abdomen, the lamp will not cast light into the abdomen. It needs to be held above the body to cast light down.
He needs a third hand, and if he hangs it from his jacket (buttonhole?) he'll burn his face.
It's another non-starter theory in my view.

[MrBarnett]

DCs were not issued with lamps.

Monty

Nor, I would imagine, PCs in plain clothes? Not a lot of point in dressing in muffti and carrying a bullseye, I'd have thought.