| Jack the Ripper letters |
|---|
| "Dear Boss" letter |
| "Saucy Jacky" postcard |
| "From Hell" letter |
The "From Hell" letter[1] (or the "Lusk letter"[2]) is a letter posted in 1888 by a man who claimed to be the killer known as Jack the Ripper.
Though many hundreds of letters claiming to be from the killer were posted at the time of the Ripper murders, many researchers argue that the "From Hell" letter is one of a handful of possibly authentic writings received from the serial killer.[3] Its author did not 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] At the time, it was claimed that the kidney was examined by Dr. Thomas Horrocks Openshaw, who concluded that the organ belonged to a heavy drinking female around the age of 45. This led some officials to believe the kidney belonged to heavy drinker and prostitute Catherine Eddowes, whose kidneys had been removed by the killer.[6]
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. The image shown here is from a photograph taken before the loss of the letter.
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