Tweet
Hi:
I am new to this forum and collect supernatural and sensational fiction from the 1850 - 1940 period.
I have noticed that in the aftermath of the Ripper Murders there was a sharp rise in serial killer novels which either obliquely or directly referened the crimes perpetrated in Whitechapel. Is there a list anywhere which details this phenomenon?
I am aware of the following, for example:
Stuart Cumberland: A Fatal Affinity, A Weird Story [1889]
This very rare 'Shilling Shocker' features pictorial wrappers depicting a dagger being held aloft and tells the tale of a series of nine murders ocurring in London in which nine female virgins are stabbed to death on the eve of their 21st birthdays. The Police and media are baffled. It falls upon an expert theosophist and student of the occult to solve the crimes; a supernatural explanation is discovered. This book is notable because it must have been authored when London was in the grip of the Ripper Murders.
Chas L'Epine: The Devil In A Domino, A Realistic Study [1897]
A ghoulish fitionalisation of serial killings in London by an author whose real identity remains a mystery (he also authored a scarce were-leopard novel).
Hume Nisbet: The Demon Spell [short story from the 1894 collection 'The Haunted Station'].
This variation upon the serial killer theme depicts sensationally violent murders in London by a supernatural entity. It can be read here online:
Riccardo Stephens: The Cruciform Mark [1894]
A medical student in Edinburgh becomes embroiled in a series of weird serial killings where all the victims are young men. There is considerable supernatural content. The murderer is eventually revealed to be an evil but beautiful woman who possesses supernatural powers which are linked to a horrible brain tumour that has affected her mind. The murders only stop when the tumour kills her.
I am aware that Mrs Belloc Lowndes' 'The Lodger' from 1915 is deemed the first proper attempt to fictionalise the Ripper Murders but arguably this is because Alfred Hitchcock chose to adapt it into an historically important film. However, in my opinion, there is a strong case for arguing that there are much earlier fictionalisations, and that perhaps these treatments are closer in spirit to capturing the fear and sensationalism of the original murders. For example, photographs of the victims are used to help solve the crime in Cumberland's novel.
What does seem to be certain, however, is that the ramifications of the Ripper Murders had a profound effect on weird fition in the aftermath of the horrible crimes.
JK
I am new to this forum and collect supernatural and sensational fiction from the 1850 - 1940 period.
I have noticed that in the aftermath of the Ripper Murders there was a sharp rise in serial killer novels which either obliquely or directly referened the crimes perpetrated in Whitechapel. Is there a list anywhere which details this phenomenon?
I am aware of the following, for example:
Stuart Cumberland: A Fatal Affinity, A Weird Story [1889]
This very rare 'Shilling Shocker' features pictorial wrappers depicting a dagger being held aloft and tells the tale of a series of nine murders ocurring in London in which nine female virgins are stabbed to death on the eve of their 21st birthdays. The Police and media are baffled. It falls upon an expert theosophist and student of the occult to solve the crimes; a supernatural explanation is discovered. This book is notable because it must have been authored when London was in the grip of the Ripper Murders.
Chas L'Epine: The Devil In A Domino, A Realistic Study [1897]
A ghoulish fitionalisation of serial killings in London by an author whose real identity remains a mystery (he also authored a scarce were-leopard novel).
Hume Nisbet: The Demon Spell [short story from the 1894 collection 'The Haunted Station'].
This variation upon the serial killer theme depicts sensationally violent murders in London by a supernatural entity. It can be read here online:
Riccardo Stephens: The Cruciform Mark [1894]
A medical student in Edinburgh becomes embroiled in a series of weird serial killings where all the victims are young men. There is considerable supernatural content. The murderer is eventually revealed to be an evil but beautiful woman who possesses supernatural powers which are linked to a horrible brain tumour that has affected her mind. The murders only stop when the tumour kills her.
I am aware that Mrs Belloc Lowndes' 'The Lodger' from 1915 is deemed the first proper attempt to fictionalise the Ripper Murders but arguably this is because Alfred Hitchcock chose to adapt it into an historically important film. However, in my opinion, there is a strong case for arguing that there are much earlier fictionalisations, and that perhaps these treatments are closer in spirit to capturing the fear and sensationalism of the original murders. For example, photographs of the victims are used to help solve the crime in Cumberland's novel.
What does seem to be certain, however, is that the ramifications of the Ripper Murders had a profound effect on weird fition in the aftermath of the horrible crimes.
JK