The infamous, savage, Serial Killer from Victorian London.
The Ripper is commonly held to have killed at least five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London's East End during the fall of 1888:
- Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols (31 August)
- Annie Chapman (8 September)
- Elizabeth Stride (30 September)
- Catherine Eddowes (30 September)
- Mary Jane Kelly (9 November)
From the complex nature of the mutilations, involving relatively quick and neat removal of specific organs, it is probable that the killer had at least some knowledge of anatomy — as would a doctor, butcher or (in the theories involving royalty) a keen hunter. Unlike the other victims, Mary Kelly was killed indoors, safely away from any prying eyes, and thus, the mutilations to her body were considerably more severe than the others.note
The murder and mutilation of prostitutes cut almost straight to the heart of Victorian morbidity, causing a wave of panic in London. This was exacerbated by a series of taunting letters to the Central News Agency and the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee between the "Double Event" and Mary Kelly's death. One of these letters purported to include half of Catherine Eddowes' missing kidney -"Tother piece I fried and ate it was very nise". All except this last are now usually considered to be hoaxes perpetrated by the reporters themselves, including the one in which the Ripper received his famous name. (The other letters show a much higher degree of literacy and spelling ability than the Eddowes kidney letter. Additionally, the half-kidney was ravaged with Bright's disease, consistent with Eddowes' known poor state of health.)
Besides these communications, the only clue the killer left behind was found on the night of the "Double Event", consisting of some bloody pieces of Eddowes' apron found in an alleyway; it is theorised that they were thrown there after the murderer used them to wipe his hands. A chalk inscription above the apron pieces, "The Juwes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing", was also assumed to have been written by the killer for reasons unknown. However the inscription was cleaned away before it could be properly recorded, due to fears that it would incite the populace, and given the general anti-Semitism of the times it cannot be definitively established whether the phrase refers specifically to the Ripper murders.
Things became even more complicated when the killings (probably) stopped after Mary Kelly's death, and the case went more or less cold. Although as noted a few similar murders briefly revived fears for some years thereafter, it was and is widely believed that the killer's growing psychosis reached full expression with the Kelly murder, after which s/he either committed suicide, died naturally or was committed for other reasons.
The suspects named then and since represent an extraordinary cross-section of society of the time, ranging from a homeless Jewish butcher to various middle-class medical students to the Heir to the British Empire. The theory that the killer was a woman, a vengeful/insane midwife dressed as a man, has also been bandied about from time to time. Another popular notion has it that the killer had been infected with syphilis — a venereal disease that causes progressive brain damage in its last stages — and was out for revenge. Another (the basis for most of the Royal theories) held that the five victims were bound by knowledge of a highly sensitive secret harboured by one, probably Kelly, and killed by Mysterious Government Agents to keep them from talking.
In this version, a fictionalized account of the character, Jack was responsible for multiple murders besides the initial five, killing in daylight and at night at random. His victims were primarily women with a few randomly assorted policemen.
The mere mention of his name could produce panic in London during his rampage and he held the city in a vice grip of terror.
Until something even worse showed up.
It should be noted, however, that Ramona Morgenstern is not a hero in any sense of the word. She's a monster who just happened to be touring London that particular year.
The news of the murders intrigued her and she decided to take a look, wanting to see one of the bodies freshly murdered.
Now, mind you, The East End of London in the 1880's was not a nice place be, to say the least, even before Jack came along. It was extremely overcrowded, mainly with Jewish refugees fleeing persecution in Russia, and Irish immigrants trying to escape the potato famine. Sewerage systems and water sanitation were nonexistent, to the extent that people would throw their raw sewage into the street, making the stench of the whole district unbearable, providing a breeding ground for a plethora of nasty diseases. Unemployment, homelessness, and starvation were rampant. Ironically, though, the murders helped make the public aware of the horrific living conditions, which paved the way for future social reforms.
Furthermore, Ramona, as a Vampire, had superhuman senses. Including, naturally, a superhuman sense of smell. In an outdoor sewer. It was not a pleasant experience for her.
Even more amusing, he found her first, mistaking her for a streetwalker due to her fancy dress and pain skin. It took him a minute to notice her blazing red eyes but he dismissed it as a trick of the light.
He rambled and threatened her as she struggled to keep a straight face and played along...for almost a minute before she burst out laughing.
Eventually she grew bored with her game, snapped his knife in half and backhanded him across the street, up into the air and through the upper wall of a building.
And so, with a single blow,
 |
| In a million years they'll find me Only dust and a plaque That reads, "Here Lies Poor Old Jack" |
Assuming him dead, she hopped to the rooftop of a building and merrily skipped away while singing her favorite song.
It was a very strange night. To hear the East Londoners report it, it sounded like a bomb had gone off and that there was a singing ghost traversing the city.
As for Jack by all logic, that should've been the end of it. Buuut there happened to be another vampire in the area, whom Jack had been providing the organs to, so that he could provide them to a certain vampiric coven cult. Ramona didn't sense him because, again, East London smelled horrible and she wasn't really paying attention to surroundings too well at the moment.
Seeing the condition Jack was in, he flipped a coin and ended up turning him.
While he was alive, he might've been twisted, but as a vampire, he became much worse and he was inducted into The Death's Marauders Coven.
And needless to say, even after all this time, he is still pissed at Ramona.
In between adjusting to his vampiric unlife and carrying out the wills of his masters and coven, with a certain amount of satisfaction admittedly, he has been preparing to one take revenge against her.
As a vampire, Jack possesses several of the powers afforded to trained adult class vampires. He does possess a measure of magical abilities but they aren't his strong suit due to a lack of discipline and patience. His favorite trick is growing weapons out of his body.
Which he uses to generate drill-shaped spears on his arm that are made out of bone, metal rivets and an assorment of blades out of his arms, legs and torso and he uses these to reflect blinding light toward his enemies. The light comes from the tiny, shark teeth-like claws running along the edge of the blade much like a chainsaw. It is from the reflections of these claws that gives his swords their shining intensity. In this mode, they are in fact sharp enough to cut through most objects, including an automobile and several bullets at blinding speeds.
This matches his personality. Rather than kill his victims outright, he prefers to draw out their torment for his own amusement, overconfident in their inability to effectively fight back, he absolutely loves taking his time with his kills, especially when he's killing or torturing women. Even if he pulls out a kitchen knife, you'll never see him simply stab someone in the stomach and walk away. He's gonna use that knife in the most hideous manner he can think of. All this for no reason other than the sheer thrill of killing people.
For all of his savagery however, Jack still ultimately has the mindset of the same thug he was in life, and while he is clever, he lacks, for example, Ramona's cerebral nature and her sadomasochistic love of pain.
While Ramona is perfectly happy to throw down with powerful enemies knowing and hoping they'll give her some good old fashioned orgasmic pain, Jack, ultimately, only wants to fight people he knows he can beat. When fighting against an opponent who completely outclasses him, he tends to get pissed. Probably due to the fact that his dying thoughts before he was turned was how pissed he was that a 'street walker' was making a joke out of him.
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