The Hypno-Ripper

 The Hypno-Ripper (2021) by Donald K. Hartman (ed) contains two of the earliest fictional accounts of Jack the Ripper and his reign of terror in the Whitechapel area of London. Each appeared by 1889 and carry an immediacy of tone having been published so soon after the five murders of 1888. Appearing independently by Dr. N. T. Oliver (aka Edward Oliver Tilburn) and Charles Kowlder, each story features an American Jack the Ripper and the use of hypnotism is prevalent in his horrific crimes. Oliver's story, The Whitechapel Mystery, is novel-length while Kowlder's "The Whitechapel Horrors" is a shorter piece which was originally published anonymously in two American newspapers. 

One might suppose that the stories would feature the use of hypnotism by Jack--placing the women under his power and making his task of murder much easier. However, both stories find some, if not all of the murders being committed while the killer is under the power of another. Much has been made of the power of hypnotism and whether someone could be made to commit acts they normally would not while under its influence. Obviously, the authors of these stories believed (or wished their audience to believe) that it is possible for someone of strong personality and mind to exert enough power over a weaker personality to accomplish just that. 

The Whitechapel Mystery is an odd story. It begins with Detective John Philip Dewey lying on his deathbed. He entrusts a packet of writing to the doctor who attends him in his last hour, telling the doctor that the contents, unbelievable as they may seem, will explain a great mystery. The papers explain that Dewey was called upon to investigate a great bank robbery--committed by a doctor who was also a great hypnotist. He follows the man to London where he finds him killing the women of the streets. When Dewey will not stop dogging his footsteps, Dr. Westinghouse exerts his power over the detective and causes him to kill as well. And, in fact, christens his "helper" Jack the Ripper in the process. Westinghouse tells Dewey that he is on a mission and explains what has driven him to cross the Atlantic to kill women in England. To a certain extent, I can see the logic behind what Westinghouse thinks he has to do. But, I don't quite see why he continues to kill once he finds the woman he believes responsible for the trouble which sets him on his course. Once he deals with her, I would think his mission would be accomplished.

"The Whitechapel Horrors" is a much shorter piece and the author, the pseudonymous Charles Kowlder, is actually giving the reader a confession of sorts. After being diagnosed with symptoms of paresis of the brain, Kowlder is advised by his doctor to "take a mental break" and try to think of nothing of consequence for about three months. Since a person can't not think of anything at all, he decides to stop thinking about his business and normal interests and takes up an interest in the murder of Polly (Mary Ann) Nichols--the first of the Ripper's victims. To his horror, by the end of the story, he realizes that through taking such a concentrated interest in that murder, he managed to self-hypnotize himself into becoming the killer of the remaining four.  Now the introductory blurb that went along with this short story's publication in the paper says "It is a piece of fiction, avowedly, and yet its ingenuity seems to recommend it to the Londoners as strongly as though it were the truth." Well...no. I can't see many Londoners no matter what era believing this to be the truth. But--I can see it being an affecting piece of fiction. Particularly if one were not forewarned that hypnosis is involved (as readers of this particular volume are--after all, the preface tells us all about it). Readers in the late 1880s would have had no such forewarning.

The last portion of the book includes a meticulously researched biography of Edward Oliver Tilburn. Tilburn was a very complex character--intelligent, a gifted writer, and secretary for several chambers of commerce, but also a con man who didn't blink at selling "snake oil" treatments, medical devices that didn't work, and real estate deals that weren't actually real. It was interesting to note that this slick conman spent part of his time in Indiana--in nearby Linton and also associated with Bloomington.

This is certainly an interesting look at early fictional pieces about the Ripper's identity. I have a great interest in the Victorian period and while I am no Ripper scholar I have read many of the books exploring the identity of one of London's most notorious killers. Most of those dealt with looking at the facts and trying to discover who the most likely culprit (of the previously named suspects). I have also read fictional accounts of the Ripper's crimes, but, again, those generally have given a fictional solution that used someone who had been identified as a suspect at some time in the the actual investigation. It was interesting to see how late-Victorian authors used hypnotism in their solutions to the mystery of the Whitechapel killings. The novel was certainly more interesting than the shorter piece--but that is partly due to the brevity of the second story. If the Kowlder story had been expanded and given a bit more depth, I think it could have had more of an impact as a narrative and the surprise ending would pack more of a punch. ★★★★

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Deaths = 6 (five stabbed; one natural)

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This book was given to me as a review copy by the editor, Don Hartman, in exchange for an honest review. All comments are my own and I have received no payment of any kind.