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5 Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK

  • Kevin Hoffin
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50 Dark Destinations
This chapter is in the book 50 Dark Destinations

Abstract

On a nightly basis, the streets of Whitechapel, East London become a hive of tourist activity. Unlike the West End, where groups of eager visitors enjoy the performances in any number of theatres; the intention of those that venture into Whitechapel is decidedly more sinister. It was here that in the late 1880s, the serial killer, Jack the Ripper, stalked the back alleys and murdered five women (Rubenhold, 2020). The mythology that has manifested around the mystery of Jack the Ripper is a staple of the ‘true crime’ genre of entertainment and has proliferated through the media for over a century. Retellings of the murders with various dramatic twists (supernatural ephemera, attempts at uncovering his identity) are common and ensure the popularity of the unsolved cases perpetuate. The area of Whitechapel has capitalised upon the historical murder of five women to underpin much of the economy. Examples include an East End chip shop: ‘Jack the Chipper’ and various Jack the Ripper inspired gift shops. Most prominent (and arguably most problematic) however, are the guided tours aimed at tourists with a taste for the macabre. Each evening the streets of Whitechapel are flooded by the surfeit of eager tourists being metaphorically whisked back to the 1880’s. The reason for the abundance of eager tourists pounding the pavement, even during the deepest of English winters, is to follow The Ripper’s footsteps. For the purpose of writing this chapter, the author participated in the Jack the Ripper Tour, billed as “The Original Terror Tour”

Abstract

On a nightly basis, the streets of Whitechapel, East London become a hive of tourist activity. Unlike the West End, where groups of eager visitors enjoy the performances in any number of theatres; the intention of those that venture into Whitechapel is decidedly more sinister. It was here that in the late 1880s, the serial killer, Jack the Ripper, stalked the back alleys and murdered five women (Rubenhold, 2020). The mythology that has manifested around the mystery of Jack the Ripper is a staple of the ‘true crime’ genre of entertainment and has proliferated through the media for over a century. Retellings of the murders with various dramatic twists (supernatural ephemera, attempts at uncovering his identity) are common and ensure the popularity of the unsolved cases perpetuate. The area of Whitechapel has capitalised upon the historical murder of five women to underpin much of the economy. Examples include an East End chip shop: ‘Jack the Chipper’ and various Jack the Ripper inspired gift shops. Most prominent (and arguably most problematic) however, are the guided tours aimed at tourists with a taste for the macabre. Each evening the streets of Whitechapel are flooded by the surfeit of eager tourists being metaphorically whisked back to the 1880’s. The reason for the abundance of eager tourists pounding the pavement, even during the deepest of English winters, is to follow The Ripper’s footsteps. For the purpose of writing this chapter, the author participated in the Jack the Ripper Tour, billed as “The Original Terror Tour”

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447362210-009

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
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