The infamous Victorian serial killer “Jack the Ripper” has received one of the most notorious reputations in history for casting a dark shadow over a once insignificant town through murder. 1888 East London, what was once a hub of immigrants and working class citizens, slowly became a place of fear and panic that was noticed across England. The cause of all of this attention, a serial killer dubbed “Jack the Ripper,” ironically escaped the public eye and all persecution, leaving us with an interesting puzzle to solve. While the identity of this barbaric personality remains unknown, one cannot help but question whether it was sheer luck that allowed him to escape justice or whether there were other contributing factors that made his killing spree possible. This figure that haunted East London like a ghost had to have been confident that the social, economic, and environmental factors of this impoverish town would make it possible for these horrific acts to take place without public recollection, and unfortunately he succeeded. …show more content…
The ways in which the buildings were arranged “created pockets of irregularity in the urban grid” that formed frequent dead ends and parts of the street that were invisible to pedestrians (Vaughan). The location of one of these murders, for example, was within a dark courtyard that was formed by the junction of two neighboring streets, forming an area completely secluded to the public. These “large scale obstacles” affected people’s ability to maneuver the city easily and directly, making it possible for him to kill without drawing attention (Vaughan). As quoted by Dr Laura Vaughan, “ the physical form and layout of the city was itself viewed by the general public as a source of the immorality of its inhabitants, and was considered to be a significant obstacle to