Ripper Notes: Jack the Slasher

by Wolf Vanderlinden, Tom Wescott

"Ripper Jack the Slasher" is a collection of essays about the famous unidentified Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper and related topics. Wolf Vanderlinden starts things off with an overview of suspect Hyam Hyams, an insane East End Jew sometimes named as being the Whitechapel murderer. This includes a never-before seen photograph of Hyams in an asylum. Wolf then provides an in depth look at Henry G. Dowd, the New York maniac known as Jack the Slasher. When he was caught the newspapers tried to link him to the more famous killings in London. Next Bernard Brown, editor of the Metropolitan Police History magazine, theorizes about what a New York Ripper would find most familiar in Whitechapel. This is followed by Tom Wescott with a thorough examination of the neighborhood where victim Elizabeth Stride was killed, including a large number of period photographs and illustrations. He then uses information about other murder scenes to try to determine the exact methods the Ripper used to subdue and kill Stride. Next "ESM" provides the facts and never before crime scene illustrations and photos of the little known case of the Vienna Ripper, another killer and mutilator of prostitutes in the late 19th century, one whose methods and personal characteristics could be directly comparable to the London murders. This is followed by Wolf again, this time detailing the known facts of a Lascar sailor named in some news reports as having been the Ripper. Profusely illustrated with rare and never before seen illustrations, Ripper Notes is a nonfiction anthology series covering all aspects of the Jack the Ripper case.

Genres: True Crime

108 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting suspects (Hyam Hyams) I had never come across before. Some ripper like killers in other countries. Always new info and theories!

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the weaker volumes, of particular iritation was the five page article allegedly comparing Whitechapel to New York but consisting mostly of speculation about a n0n-existant American suspect living on one of two New York Streets in London because apparently the name of either street would have made him feel at home. The usual self-congratulation and petty sniping in the editorial and reviews combines with the solid work done by most of the other contributors.