“Shall man be given marvels only when he is beyond all wonder? Your days were born in blood and fire! Think not to be inured to history. Its black root succours you. Are you asleep to it, that you cannot feel its breath upon your neck, nor see what soaks its cuffs?”—Alan Moore’s Jack the Ripper
London’s 1888 Whitechapel murders are not an integral part of this adventure, but a glimpse of the misty London streets may help set the mood for the adventure. If you want more details about the mood and scene of London in 1888, I recommend the graphic novel “From Hell”.
The murders were rituals as well. As the Ripper progressed through his victims, the mutilations became increasingly severe. Annie Chapman’s uterus was removed. Catherine Eddowes’s uterus and kidney were removed, and her face mutilated. Dismembered bodies were found throughout London during this period, including a torso in the basement of the Metropolitan Police headquarters.
A thick fog rolls through the doorway, bearing with it the smell of rotten eggs and the sour, rank smell of human waste and horse droppings. Beyond the fog you hear the sound of horses trotting on cobblestone, carriages clattering behind them on stone. Walls loom out of the fog on the other side of a cramped, dark alley.
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