- published: 01 Sep 2015
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The "Dear Boss" letter was a message allegedly written by the notorious Victorian serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. It was postmarked and received on 27 September 1888, by the Central News Agency of London. It was forwarded to Scotland Yard on 29 September.
Written in red ink, the message, like most alleged Ripper letters that followed, contains spelling and punctuation errors. It reads:
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck.
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper is the best known name given to an unidentified serial killer generally believed to have been active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name "Jack the Ripper" originated in a letter written by someone claiming to be the murderer that was disseminated in the media. The letter is widely believed to have been a hoax, and may have been written by journalists in an attempt to heighten interest in the story and increase their newspapers' circulation. The killer was called "the Whitechapel Murderer" as well as "Leather Apron" within the crime case files, as well as in contemporary journalistic accounts.
Attacks ascribed to Jack the Ripper typically involved female prostitutes who lived and worked in the slums of the East End of London whose throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to proposals that their killer had some anatomical or surgical knowledge. Rumours that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and letters were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard from a writer or writers purporting to be the murderer. The "From Hell" letter received by George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee included half of a preserved human kidney, purportedly taken from one of the victims. The public came increasingly to believe in a single serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper", mainly because of the extraordinarily brutal character of the murders, and because of media treatment of the events.
dear boss,
i keep on hearing the police have caught me
but they won't fix me just yet. i have laughed
when they look so clever and talk about being
on the right track. that joke about leather apron
gave me real fits. i am down on whores and i
shant quit ripping them till i do get buckled.
grand work the last job was. i gave the lady no
time to squeal. how can they catch me now.
i love my work and want to start again.
you will soon hear of me with my funny little
games. i saved some of the proper red stuff in a
ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with
but it went thick like glue and i cant use it. red
ink is fit enough i hope ha. ha. the next job i do
i shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the
police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. keep
this letter back till I do a bit more work,
then give it out straight.
my knife's so nice and sharp i want to get to
work right away if i get a chance. good luck.
how can they catch me now?
how can they catch me now?