It is perhaps no surprise that ghost stories are told in connection with the Jack the Ripper murders, in fact the biggest surprise is that there are not as many of them as might be expected.
MITRE SQUARE HAUNTINGS
In his book Haunted Britain, first published in the 1940’s, Elliott O’Donnell wrote that:-
“In 1895, when staying in London, I visited Whitechapel and had interesting conversations about the murders with several inhabitants of the district. They told me that in the streets – and in Mitre Square – where the murders had been committed, appalling screams and groans uttered by no living human being were heard at night.”
100 YEARS OF MYSTERY
The late Peter Underwood, in his 1988 book Jack The Ripper 100 Years Of Mystery, offered a possible explanation for why the murder sites should be haunted:-
“There is a theory that under certain conditions and in certain circumstances tragic and violent happenings leave behind an impression on the atmosphere…which again under certain conditions and perhaps in the presence of certain people, reappears.
If there is any validity in this idea then it seems likely that something of the Ripper’s murders might be left behind. In fact there is considerable evidence that this is so.”
JACK THE RIPPER AND THE SUPERNATURAL
The idea of paranormal activity around the Whitechapel murders is not a modern one.
Indeed, almost as soon as the murders began, the newspapers were reporting that the spirit of Mary Nichols was appearing at seances to demand justice and to warn that there would be more murders.
I’ve made a full video on these seances, which you can watch here.
THE CURSE UPON MITRE SQUARE
In November,1888, John Francis Brewer published The Curse Upon Mitre Square – a shilling shocker aimed at cashing in on the horror that the murders were generating throughout society at large.
According to Brewer, in 1530, Brother Martin, a young monk at the Holy Trinity priory – the site of which is commemorated by a blue plaque in the Mitre Square square today, and ragged remnants of which can be seen through the windows of the office block on the corner of Mitre Street – was tricked into murdering a woman on the steps of the High Altar of the church after which he turned the knife on himself.
The site of those steps was in what became the south west corner of Mitre Square
Ever after, a mysterious apparition was said to haunt the spot where the atrocity had occurred, as Brewer puts it:-
“It was rumoured that every night, between the hour of twelve and one, a dark young man appeared in the garb of a monk, and always pointed to a spot, and uttered strange prophecies of terrible events that must occur there.”
The people got wind of the story of Martin and the murder, and for many generations, the spot was considered cursed.
WOE TO ANYONE
In time Mitre Square was built on the site of the priory and the cursed spot was occupied by its south west corner.
“Woe to anyone who would live on that spot;” Brewer warned his readers “woe to him who remained there at night and out of reach of help!” Brewer informed his readers.
The curse, Brewer continued, resulted in several murders being committed on the dreaded spot.
THE MURDER OF CATHERINE EDDOWES
But, of course, the one that Brewer was capitalising on in order to sell copies of his book, was that of Catherine Eddowes, which had taken place in the Square’s south-west corner on the 30th of September, 1888.
And so, let’s join him as he takes his readers to Mitre Square in the aftermath of the murder of Catherine Eddowes:-
There, with the aid of the policeman’s bulls-eye, we see a sight so horrible that full particulars cannot be printed, but it is a counterpart of that which the monks of Holy Trinity saw when they arrived at that identical spot in the year 1530.
Measure this spot as carefully as you will, and you will find that the piece of ground on which Catherine Eddowes lies is the exact point where the steps of the high altar of Holy Trinity existed.”
Oh, what can we do that these horrors may be stayed? What CAN we do?”
NO ACTUAL CURSE
Of course, there was no actual curse upon Mitre Square, as the story was a work of fiction. But that didn’t stop several newspapers reporting the story as historical fact.
The St James’s Gazette ended a review of it with the comment:-
“The story is not a pleasant one; but it is powerfully told, and may commend itself to superstitious people who like to give themselves the creeps.”
HE MITRE KNOWN!
The Acton Gazette, meanwhile, on Saturday the 15th of December, couldn’t resist a little punning at the expense of rival newspaper the Star:-
SQUARING MATTERS
“It appears that the recent explanation in the Star of the legend in connection with the “Curse upon Mitre -square” has given rise to many painful feelings among the inhabitants of that neighbourhood; and the Editor has been gallant enough to express his regret at the occurrence. Of course, he Mitre known the consequences beforehand.”
GHOSTS IN MITRE SQUARE
However, stories of hauntings at Mitre Square continued well into the 20th century.
Elliot O’donnell later collected numerous reports from all sorts of people – including a policeman, a doctor and a relative of his – who had claimed to have seen the ghostly form of Catherine Eddowes in the dark corner of the square where her murder had taken place.
Everyone of the sightings was in late September – different years but always late in the month of September and sometimes on the actual anniversary of the murder.
20th CENTURY HAUNTINGS
By the time Peter Underwood came to write his book on Jack the Ripper, rumours abounded that the corner in which the murder had occurred was haunted.
A medical student whom Underwood interviewed, told him how, as he was crossing the square late one September night, he saw what he at first took to be a bundle of old clothes lying in the south west corner of the square.
However, he thought he saw a slight movement, and thinking it might be someone who had either collapsed or was injured, he went to investigate, and, on approaching, saw that it was a woman wearing a light dress under a coat. Going closer still, he was astonished when the figure suddenly vanished.
THE YOUNG COUPLE
He also spoke with a young couple who had been crossing the square late one September evening when they saw a man hurry out of the square in the opposite direction.
They then noticed what looked like a bundle of clothing in the corner, and went over to investigate, and saw that it was a woman lying quite still.
Just at that moment a group of youths entered the square, and, not wishing to be discovered in the vicinity of an accident or worse, they hurried from the square.
On turning to look back, they saw the youths larking and drinking on the exact spot where the silent form had been lying, but to their surprise there was no sign at all of the woman.
MITRE SQUARE TRANSFORMED
Since then, Mitre Square has been completely transformed to the point that it no longer has any signage even identifying it as Mitre Square.
There were claims in the early 2000s of people seeing the cobbles glow red at midnight on the anniversary of the murder, but even these have now disappeared to be replaced by a nondescript garden, where, a far as I am aware, no recent physical manifestations have been seen, albeit some of those of a psychic disposition have reported being overcome by a feeling of extreme unease and distress on entering the square