The route around London in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper: description, photos, places

The “gentleman's package” of a tourist in London includes sightseeing, known from illustrations in English textbooks. No doubt – they really deserve attention. But maybe it's worth turning off the standard tourist path and delving into the interweaving of old streets shrouded in a mist of secrets and mysteries? For you, we have prepared a route around London: in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper.

Walk down Mansell Street, turn onto Whitechapel

First, of course, we will pay tribute to history and architecture – Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben, Covent Garden, the financial center of the City and St. Paul's Cathedral. A couple of hours of leisurely walking – and we get to the extreme eastern point of the standard route – the Tower Fortress and the unique Tower Bridge, the symbol of London and the decoration of the covers of all English language courses.

Admire the Thames, take pictures against the backdrop of ivy-covered fortress walls? Then – go! We pass through the Tower Bridge Approach, go up Mansell Street to Whitechapel Street and turn right. We are in the Whitechapel area. It is here that the most popular, despite its advanced age, London mystery lives.

Whitechapel was and, in the opinion of Londoners, will forever remain a “problem” area. Fans of architectural beauties and aesthetic entertainment have nothing to do here. And practical citizens come here on Sundays – when life is raging here in the famous markets. Petticoat Lane Market is London's main “point” for the sale of cheap clothes.

Women's underwear was sold here at the end of the 17th century (the name of the street is translated as “Alley of petticoats” or, more figuratively, “Indian Kingdom”). Fans of fashionable clothes and accessories move to the markets on Brick Lane and Fashion Street.

Who needs fresh healthy food – goes to the huge Spitalfields market, and who wants to fill up a person dear to him with inexpensive flowers – keeps his way to the market on Columbia Street. Here the victims of Jack the Ripper dressed, ate and, as best they could, decorated their lives.

Brutal invisible man

The official history of serial murders on our planet begins on August 31, 1888: in the early morning of that day, less than a hundred meters from the Royal London Hospital, the body of the first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, was found. The fact that this was an unusual murder (and the “ordinary” ones were an everyday occurrence here) became clear immediately – the woman not only had her throat cut, but also cut out part of the internal organs …

However, the police became concerned only after the second similar murder – on the morning of September 8, the body of Annie Chapman was found near the Spitalfields market. But the real panic began after September 27, when a letter arrived at Scotland Yard that began with the kind words “Dear Boss” and contained an unambiguous promise to “cut the ladies' ears off.” It was signed simply – “Jack the Ripper”.

At first, the message was considered the work of a “black humorist”, but on September 30, the maniac committed two murders at once. At one in the morning in Whitechapel, a terrible scream attracted the attention of the patrol and passers-by, but they missed the killer by just a minute, and found only the body of the third victim – Elizabeth Stride. The madman did not have time to “gut” her and, apparently, therefore, after a short period of time, struck a new blow.

Katherine Eddowes was found on Miter Square – this was the first and last time the killer went outside of Whitechapel, although from the center of poverty to the financial center is a stone's throw – you just need to go in a straight line in a westerly direction. He fulfilled his promise: he not only removed the entrails from the fourth victim, but also cut off the ear. Raids of reinforced police patrols and hastily created “self-defense units” forced the maniac to lie low.

However, he clearly did not want to be forgotten: on October 16, the Whitechapel Committee of Self-Defense received a letter signed “from hell” and containing the kidney of the unfortunate Catherine Eddowes. The maniac committed a new murder on November 9, 1888 – Mary-Jane Kelly died in her apartment, and she was cut more than the others. And then Jack the Ripper vanished—no more letters, no more murders.

Not caught but a thief

Fans of this story (they are called “ripperologists”, and there are still a great many of them in the world) have a favorite theory: in fact, the perpetrator was found, but the police hid his identity. Already after the second murder, rumors spread around London that these were “pranks” by Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence, the grandson of Queen Victoria and a well-known pervert with a penchant for violence.

True, at the same time a counter-version was born (perhaps not without the help of the royal court) – they say that the socialists-revolutionaries who want to shift the blame on the prince, cause an explosion of popular indignation and put an end to the monarchy are actually behind the murders. Among the suspects is still the Queen's close associate Lewis Carroll – yes, the same author of Alice in Wonderland.

By the way, have you ever noticed that this supposedly children‘s book is very reminiscent of the delirium of a drug addict? However, even during the murders themselves, the police drew attention to the professionalism with which the bodies were “dissected”.

The offender clearly had medical training, and therefore the most likely version is that he was Sir William Gull, the Queen's personal physician, who disappeared from view at the end of 1888 and died peacefully in 1890. The version was made practically “official” by two feature films – the magnificent British television picture “Jack the Ripper” (1988) starring Michael Caine and the Hollywood action movie “From Hell” (2003) with Johnny Depp.

Spy passions

However, I think the next version will interest you the most: Jack the Ripper was … our compatriot, Dr. Alexander Pedachenko! Officially, he arrived in London for surgical practice, but in fact he was an agent of the special services of the Russian Empire.

He had a special task – to commit a series of terrible crimes in Whitechapel in order to attract special attention of the police to the area and thereby complicate the life of the “Russian revolutionaries” who had dug in here (whatever their nationality). The mysterious Aesculapius, among other things, was very interested in transsexuality, could dress as a woman and, therefore, not arouse fear among his victims. Pedachenko disappeared from Whitechapel without a trace.

It is believed that the British intelligence services caught him and put him in a psychiatric hospital, but without publicity – so as not to aggravate the international situation. What, this option seems too exotic to you? Then let me recall the very recent story of the poisoning in London of a Russian ex-employee of the special services, an emigrant Litvinenko. The British suspect Putin of the crime, and Putin hangs him on Berezovsky, who is dug in London, and the investigation, it seems, will remain incomplete …

Every joke…

But back to Jack the Ripper. Everything could be much easier. All five victims were “amateur” prostitutes, that is, they did not have the protection of pimps and could well become a victim of someone's revenge. In addition, they were all frequenters of the most popular pub in the area, Ten Bells (Ten Belz) on Commercial Street. It exists to this day, has not changed at all and attracts a lot of tourists.

At that time, this pub was located in the very center of London crime – there were entirely brothels and thieves' raspberries around. It is possible that five women became unwitting witnesses of some conversation or event, for which they were killed.

But there is another interesting theory. Among the suspects is journalist Robert Stevenson, who shortly before the first murder went to the Whitechapel hospital, and was discharged from it immediately after the last. He was the author of several articles about these murders. And after all, what an amusing thing turns out – Jack the Ripper can be considered the “father-inspirer” of the tabloid press. It was from the articles about this maniac that the public's interest in this type of press began. What's more, it looks like it's finally clear to publishers what the public likes to read about the most!

Remember the very recent case of the Norfolk Strangler – even our television reported in detail about each of its victims. But what if Stevenson (or even a hired killer) acted on the instructions of the owner of one of the newspapers, and Jack the Ripper is nothing more than a grandiose marketing ploy, on which, by the way, in our time really make good money a significant part of the tourist London business? If this sounds like a joke to you, then you don't know what people can do to increase circulation. You can take our word for it.

London is the birthplace of the first recorded (but not caught) serial killer in the history of mankind. His nickname – “Jack the Ripper” – has since become a household name. “Nothing boosts the tourism business like mysterious murders!” said one of the heroes of Alfred Hitchcock’s cult thrillers, and it seems he was right.

If you plan to spend a few days in the city, we recommend that you read the 3-day London guide and free activities in London.