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The "From Hell" Letter
In 1888, several women were murdered in the East End section of London and mutilated in ways that suggested the culprit had substantial anatomical knowledge. Authorities received hundreds of letters regarding the murders, including a number of taunting notes purportedly from the killer himself—"Jack the Ripper." However, many of the letters were believed to be hoaxes. One of the few notes thought to be authentic began with the words "from hell" and was delivered with a small box containing

During the period of the Ripper murders, the media, police and other officials had received a sea of letters. The Whitechapel Murders had created such a media frenzy that many local citizens found it irresistible to not want to be a part of this sensational investigation.

Some of the letters were sent by concerned citizens offering their support in the ongoing investigation, yet hundreds of letters were written by pranksters – with the intent of taunting police. Apart from a few well-intentioned letters from Whitechapel citizens hoping to aid police in their efforts to apprehend Jack the Ripper, the bulk of these letters were crass, distasteful or simply worthless.

Several of the ‘Ripper Letters’ were written as if by the killer himself. The vast majority of them, if not all, were believed to be hoaxes. Yet, there are three letters that stand out in particular…

Fascinating. I noticed in my youth how everyone's writing seemed different, so at one point, I studied handwriting analysis, and became certified in it. I've been studying handwriting now for over 40 years.

Analyzing these two pieces of writing, I cannot see how they can be written by the same person, unless he has two distinct personalities, which we know is possible. There is just too much difference in distinct letter formations to be the same individual.

The "From Hell" letter shows emotional instability, anger, severe repression, and excessive physical/social/sexual motivations, attention to detail, desire to control his environment.

The "Dear Boss" letter shows control, attention to detail, organizational skills, precision in action, emotional stability, but very strong anger issues. So unless the "From Hell" letter was written under the influence of some drug, these appear to be written by two different individuals, perhaps working together.

Fascinating.

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We should look to the past to learn from it, not destroy our future because of it — FounDit