Jack the Ripper Tour of London. Boo.
Posted October 23, 2009 , trackbackEditor’s note: In the run-up to Halloween and All Hallow’s Eve, we thought it would be fun to send Tina on a Jack the Ripper tour of London. Seems like this was a good call - Tina clearly was in the mood for a ghoulish tour of ye olde London towne.
It was a dark and blustery day in this dirty old town. Time was ripe to do something dangerous, weird and sinister. Well, perhaps I would just go and listen to something like that. I love all the crazy stories of London – if you have read Dickens you will know it have always been a throbbing hub of criminality and destitution. It still often feels that way as many of the buildings are remnants of times gone by, good and bad.
London’s full of nutters
So looking to satisfy my craving, I was able to get onto a tour which both intrigued and scared me… ye olde Jack the Ripper tour of London. I was a bit early for it, so I went and hung out at Trafalgar Square, which was super entertaining, and the entertainment was free! I tried taking photos of people taking photos of people on big black lions; also I tried to photograph a fella on a plinth dressed as a Raj and throwing about a vampire on a fishing pole.
Jack the Ripper tour of London? Don’t be scared.
This last statement may require explanation. And if it does not, you might want to consult a doctor. But the Raj man…This is all part of the fourth plinth project of Trafalgar Square – which has been empty for some time, and normally has on it commissioned projects. Well, the one at the moment is Antony Gormley’s “One and Other”, which allows people two hours to do whatever they like on the plinth. Some are very odd, and some are beautiful and interesting and some…well, downright bizarro. (Sadly the project ended October 14, so you just missed it!)
Jack the Ripper, it’s a mindset thing
Now I know some people who are well into this kind of thing – serial killers and the like. Well not really me – I have already worked in Mental Health, and some of my friends are a bit mad, so I don’t feel the need to get to know insanity any further.
However, there are those among us who love this kind of stuff; love getting into the mindset, or just the mystery of these kinds of events and people. And our host for the evening was evidently one such type. Full of vim, vigour and a good Scottish accent to heighten the senses, our guide John started off fairly quietly and ended with a good bang. We took a bus to the area where all of the attacks occurred, and started on our macabre journey. Starting at the (other) St Paul’s church, John described how it would have been then, and set the scene for our grim tour.
We trolled down these alleyways and backstreets, I would assume to avoid the crowds. The area where the Ripper was doing his bloody business is now a pumping hobo chic area that has lots of students, designers, hipsters (and, on Sundays, the Spitlefields Markets). But prior to this, the area was a run-down dingy place where everyone worked pretty hard for their coin, and a lot of people were still struggling to make ends meet.
Dim, dark, foggy, shivery
We began in Puma Lane, which is fairly narrow and haunting even during the day time. I enjoyed John’s descriptions, and his encouragement to imagine how it was back then. Now, I have read some reviews of this tour, and some people have been a bit persnickety about the ‘imagine’ parts of it.
The Ten Bells pub, one of Jack’s former haunts
Really, I just feel sorry that those people who obviously don’t have enough imagination. I was really drawn into the moment…for these streets really would be ominous. There was no electric bulbs at that time, and in some places not even the gas lamps. So when you put together the old brick buildings and the idea of dim, dark and foggy streets…oooh, shivery!
Now as you go through the streets and get your tour, some passersby do throw in comments and try to have a listen in. I know, because I sometimes do it, too. (Don’t hate me.) This just makes you concentrate more on what is being said. It can be quite intense this tour, because it was a grisly rampage the fellow went on; at one point after a description a girl had to have a wee sit down. So that is why the host asked for doctors and nurses in the audience. I must say, the Ripper did quite a nasty job on all of his victims, and it could be a little churning for those on the sensitive side.
But overall, it is not the physical act which is focussed on, but the psychology of the attacker. Of the cunning and skills he had to possess, and the mystery as to why he was never caught. The Ripper dubbed himself in a letter, and carried on his way for quite some time in these dank streets of east London.
Eating & drinking in the Ripper’s footsteps
Thankfully, there is a break in the middle of the tour, where you can grab a drink or a bite to eat. Now, if you are cluey, you can go down to the pub The Ten Bells, which is really a central part of the Ripper story. Inside, is quite cozy and well heeled, and does not retain what I would think the really hardcore working-class-pub feel of what it once was. But that is kind of this whole area. But take a beer during the break at this pub, and you will get to have the full experience, if you can imagine how it would have been over a century ago. Grime on the walls, everything pretty smelly, and beer in tankards with wenches a-plenty.
So we were on the last leg of the tour, the final victim and her story, which funnily enough started at the Ten Bells. We visited where her house would have been and heard the story, which was admittedly quite gory. And the best thing I liked about this part was one of the audience members who was eating ice cream while listening to the wicked and bloody tale. I commented, and she replied ‘oh I don’t mind, I’m a nurse’. Now I understand my sister a lot more (she is also a nurse).
So after the final story, we piled back in the bus, and John went through the theories of the time as to who the killer was, for he was never caught. I liked the one about the bonny Prince someone or other. We disembarked from the bus, assured by host and driver that the streets of London really are very safe and to have a lovely night. In fact a bloody marvellous night (pun intended).
-Tina Grace
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