From Hell letter
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The "From Hell" letter[1] (or the "Lusk letter"[2]) is the name given to a letter posted in 1888 by a man who claimed to be the killer known as Jack the Ripper.
Though many letters claiming to be from the killer were posted at the time of the Ripper murders, the "From Hell" letter is widely considered by many Ripper researchers to be one of only a few reasonable candidates to possibly be authentic writing received from the serial killer.[3] It is perhaps noteworthy that its author chose not to sign it with the pseudonym, "Jack the Ripper", distinguishing it from the earlier Dear Boss letter, the Saucy Jack postcard, and their imitators. The "From Hell" letter is also written at a much lower literacy level than the other two.[4]
Postmarked on 15 October 1888, the letter was received by George Lusk, then head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, the following day.
The reason this letter stands out more than any other is that it was delivered with a small box containing half of what doctors later determined was a human kidney, preserved in ethanol. One of Catherine Eddowes's kidneys had been removed by the killer. Medical opinion at the time was that the organ could have been acquired by medical students and sent with the letter as part of a hoax. [5]
The text of the letter reads:
| “ | From hell Mr Lusk, signed |
” |
The original letter, as well as the kidney that accompanied it, have subsequently been lost along with other items that were originally contained within the Ripper police files. It is possible that one or both was kept by an official as a souvenir of the case. The image shown here is from a photograph taken before the loss of the letter.
[edit] See also
- From Hell, a graphic novel that takes its title from the "From Hell" letter.
- From Hell (film), a film loosely based on the graphic novel.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Casebook: Jack the Ripper article on the Ripper letters
- ^ Sophie Grove, "You Don’t Know Jack: A new museum exhibition opens the case file on Jack the Ripper—and affords a grim look at the London of the time—a city made for murder," Newsweek Web Exclusive, 9 June 2008, [1].
- ^ Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. New York: Carroll & Graf. p. 273. ISBN 0786709324.
- ^ Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. New York: Carroll & Graf. pp. 273–276. ISBN 0786709324.
- ^ Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. New York: Carroll & Graf. pp. 273–276. ISBN 0786709324.
[edit] Sources
- Casebook: Jack the Ripper article on the Ripper letters
- Evans, Stewart; Keith Skinner (2001). Jack the Ripper: Letters From Hell. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750925493.
- Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0786709324.
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