The most famous of them all, of course, was Jack the Ripper who terrorized London in the latter part of the nineteenth century. You would think that with the modern-day serial killers who have kill counts numbering in the double digits, Jack the Ripper, whose known kill count was only five, would've paled in comparison. But no. What made him stand out? He got away with it. And up to this day, nobody knows who he really was.
And then there's his nightmarish M.O. His targets were all prostitutes, who by the nature of their profession would want to take their customers to the most dark and hidden street corners of Victorian London. The best place to commit a crime, wouldn't it? He then would stealthily approach his victim from the back, grab her by the hair, quickly slit her throat twice, then eviscerate her innards, leaving the body in such a way that people who would later find the corpse could only recoil in disgust at the inhumanity and the degradation of it all.
So you begin to question yourself: how could such a person do such barbaric acts? Was there something in his past that would've driven him to commit such abominations? Is it possible that someone was just made that way - that is, if the theory of a 'criminal DNA' is real - did he possess it? How can someone be able to do such things without feeling guilt or remorse and probably derive satisfaction, enjoyment, and thrill from doing so?
And then there's the frightening thought that such people actually do co-exist with us. He could be your neighbor, a friend, an acquaintance - someone you would never associate with the term 'serial killer'. It is not the presence of a criminal aura that sets a serial killer apart they say. It is actually the complete lack of it.
Another thing that makes me wonder is how come I don't get to hear any Filipino version of serial killers? Sure there were in the past deadly and brutal multiple killings but in a way they are also a little bit different. Maybe because these incidents were only committed once as opposed to being committed over a period of time by a single person? Anyway, I'm definitely not wishing that similar things happen here. I was just wondering whether the serial killer phenomenon is purely a Western idea. Or if such things are happening here as well but are just not being reported or recognized for what they truly are.
But I suppose my real fascination with the Jack the Ripper story is not with him or his hideous acts alone but with the power of the human psyche itself. The human brain is truly a wonderful but sometimes a truly terrifying thing. It is capable of thinking up great ideals resulting in man's progress. But it is also quite capable of committing acts that could only be described as insane.
Photo from jadugar.wordpress.com
