|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Author |
Message |
    
Stan Russo
Sergeant
Username: Stan
Post Number: 11
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 12, 2003 - 3:03 pm: |       |
Stephen,
I'll be there
STAN |
Stephen P. Ryder
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2905
Registered: 10-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 10:06 am: | |
More than half of our allotted rooms have already been booked for the April 2004 Conference in Baltimore, so if you’re planning to attend, PLEASE be sure to send in your registration deposits early! Space is limited to the first 75 registrants only.
This year’s conference is bound to be even more wildly successful than the last, with such Ripper luminaries as Donald Rumbelow, Colin Wilson, Andy Aliffe and Christopher-Michael diGrazia already lined up as guest speakers. There will be talks on Whitechapel itself, as well as the history of the London Police force from Elizabeth times to today. Colin Wilson will be speaking about Jack the Ripper and other famed cases of serial murder, and Michael Huie will be performing his much-acclaimed one-man dramatic show, entitled “Jack: A Solo Performance.” Michael will also be participating in a tribute to the “darker” side of Baltimore with a dramatic reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, and we will also have a talk by local historian Richard Barnes on the most infamous cases of Victorian murder in and around Baltimore County, Maryland. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
More information on the Conference is available at http://www.casebook.org/2004. If you are interested in attending and have questions about registering, please contact Judy Stock at needler@ntelos.net.
Those interested in sending in their Conference deposits right away can do so at the following link. This deposit of $100 per person will guarantee your spot at the Conference – the remainder of your dues will not need to be collected until 1 March 2004. Unfortunately, we can not hold rooms for anyone without a deposit, and once we reach 75 attendees, registration will be permanently closed.
Register now for the conference online, using your credit-card or Paypal account, at http://casebook.org/2004/register.html
Hope to see you in April!
Stephen P. Ryder, Editor
Casebook: Jack the Ripper |
Stephen P. Ryder
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2944
Registered: 10-1997
| | Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 8:17 pm: | |
A reminder that there are just a FEW WEEKS LEFT to send in your registration for the 2004 Ripper Conference in Baltimore. If you are considering attending, please be sure to register early to ensure your seat at the conference!
You can register online at http://www.casebook.org/2004/ - hope to see you there in April!
Stephen P. Ryder, Editor
Casebook: Jack the Ripper |
kelly robinson
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 4:18 pm: | |
Hi. I'm attending the Baltimore conference and it will be my first one. I'd love it if I could ask ?'s of someone who's been to one and will be attending this one. Any nice folks out there who will help me feel less at sea? |
Ally
Inspector
Username: Ally
Post Number: 285
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 5:30 pm: | |
Hi Kelly. I'm not sure I'm nice ( or would really want to be..how boring) but I'd be happy to answer any questions I can. If you list them, you'd probably have more of a response..it's kind of hard to judge w/o the list of questions.
Fire away! |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 606
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 9:38 am: | |
Hi, Kelly
I am a Baltimorean and have been involved in one way or another in the recent last four U.K. and U.S. conventions. Let me know what you need to know.
All the best
Chris |
kelly robinson
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 8:59 am: | |
Thanks for responding. I guess I'm most interested in knowing what to expect from the type of people who attend, as far as their particular interest in the subject. Who comes, mostly? Writers, readers, history teachers, all of the above? I think I'd just like a feel for the crowd before I arrive. And what's with the "Ripper open mic" event? What sorts of things do people do? I'm already excited about the guests. I'd like an idea of how to behave! Thanks! |
Ally
Inspector
Username: Ally
Post Number: 286
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 12:16 pm: | |
Well we all come dressed in black with our vampire teeth...no that was the other conference. Hmmmm..
Last conference, we had a wide range of people from military men to college students. Most people are just either interested in JtR or crime in general. A small core group who hang out in the chattery or on the boards go just to socialize and see what people look like in the flesh. Very normal folks ranging from grandmothers to young adults. The open mike is the last informal portion of the event where people who want to get up and discuss something they have done (poetry or whatever) or theorized get a chance to share without the formal obligation of giving an hour long speech or writing a book. It can turn into a lively debate or a total snooze depending on who and what is being presented. |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 608
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 1:55 pm: | |
Hi Kelly
My wife Donna, who came to her first Ripper conference in Bournemouth, England, was not sure what to expect either--people with two heads, or whatever! Donna reports that on the contrary she found noone with two heads and she was pleasantly surprised at how friendly everyone was, just ordinary folk who happen to be interested in these crimes, and the enduring mystery.
Ally pretty much described the range of people who will be there. They include, as you yourself said, "Writers, readers, history teachers, all of the above". More specifically a number of people in attendance will indeed be authors on the crimes with a deep knowledge of the case, others are buffs who read everything on the crimes they can, others may just have more of a passing interest but are curious, and some are collectors of every book, map, video, DVD, keyring, beermat, and statuette of Jack.
Of course, many of us have our pet theories or interest in certain aspects of the crimes, and that as Ally said is what the open mike on Sunday is for, to air one's theories or ask questions of the experts in attendance.
At any rate, based on my experience of past US and UK events I believe I can guarantee you will have a good time. Kelly, we are looking forward to seeing you there!
All the best
Chris |
kelly robinson
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, February 18, 2004 - 2:00 pm: | |
Thanks! I'm going to zip off my official message board registration so I can post without looking shady {I've been lurking for years}, and hope I'll recognognize some names when I get to Baltimore. By the way, I never expected people with two heads or serial killers or anything, just wondered about how formal and serious it would be. Thanks again! |
Stephen P. Ryder
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 2964
Registered: 10-1997
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 8:16 am: | |
Here's some local press coverage that just came out yesterday, about the conference and specifically Harry Cook, who will be speaking about Jack London's People of the Abyss.
__________________________________________________
A century later, re-examining a cold case
Local London scholar lends expertise to 'Jack the Ripper' conference
by Mary Helen Sprecher
Newsroom@baltimoreguide.com
Dirty, swirling fog. The dark, narrow, gas lit streets of 1888 London. A string of brutal, shocking murders. A lack of suspects.
No, it’s never hard to spot the elements of the archetypal Jack the Ripper story.
Fast-forward to the present, to Greektown, where Harry James Cook is sitting contentedly at his kitchen table. Cold winter rain runs down the glass of the windows outside and patters on the roof of the row home.
The chairman of the English Department at Eastern Technical High School couldn’t be further removed from the bizarre serial murders perpetrated by an unknown killer. He is, however, as familiar with the period, the people and the setting as any of those who walked the streets of London’s East End in Victorian and Edwardian times. In many ways, he adds, the issues facing society then were not that much different from those in Baltimore now.
"Crime, poverty, lack of direction for young people," says Cook. "The social conditions of the time were ripe to produce a person like Jack the Ripper."
It is a theory that Cook will put forth when he addresses attendees at "Jack the Ripper: The Third Biennial Conference," set to take place in Baltimore, April 16-18. Cook will join luminaries including detectives and scholars who will re-open the files (figuratively speaking) and explore the case.
But don’t get the idea that Cook will be there to discuss the latest suspects, or to debate whether there was a royal conspiracy to hide the real killer. Cook’s intent with the conference is academic: to acquaint attendees with the backdrop of the case by providing insights from someone who was not only one of the writers of approximately the same period, but one of the first embedded journalists ever: Jack London.
London might be best known to those who remember doing high school book reports on his novels including "The Call of the Wild," "White Fang," and "The Sea-Wolf." What most do not realize, however, is that London was actually a prolific writer whose forays into various forms of literature included war journalism, political essays on socialism and something fairly new at the time - the exploration of the human condition. It is this latter incarnation which plays into the Jack the Ripper conference.
"Jack London wrote People of the Abyss," notes Stephen P. Ryder, one of the conference organizers, "which was about real people living in the East End of London around the time of the turn of the century."
London, explains Cook, wasn’t content merely to travel to the East End, a seething cauldron of prostitution, crime, poverty and filth–jot down his observations and leave. Instead, he went undercover, as it were, becoming one of the first embedded journalists.
"He took on the garb of those people and lived the life of those people," says Cook. "He found out how they really lived. He knew the women in the sweatshops, the garment workers."
According to Cook, London’s concerns for the inhabitants of the East End would have come as a shock to polite society, who considered that segment of the population beneath its notice.
"These were people with nowhere to go, no future in sight, living hand to mouth," says Cook. Even the newspapers of the time paid more attention to the rich, only covering crime as a means of showing that a so-called ruffian had received his or her ‘comeuppance.’
Then came Jack the Ripper.
"Jack the Ripper was the first real serial murderer to receive intense newspaper coverage," says Ryder. "There was so little known about him, so few clues."
The violent and gruesome murders of at least five prostitutes within a little over two months went unsolved, becoming perhaps the first cold cases in criminal history. The shockwave was undeniable. It imprinted itself on the public consciousness, thanks to an eager press who passed along every legitimate snippet of information (as well as some dubious material) to the buying crowds.
Letters — some obviously falsified, some perhaps not — taunted police of the period. (The phrases, "From Hell" and "Catch me if you can" were used in such letters, and remain in the lexicon to this day). Leads proliferated, and went nowhere.
And then, as suddenly as the string of murders had started, they stopped. Jack the Ripper was gone.
Or at least vanished. The fascination with the case–and with identifying the responsible party– lives on.
"There are more books written about Jack the Ripper than there are about Abraham Lincoln," says Ryder, who runs a website, www.casebook.org, dedicated to the historical facts of the case, as well as to suspects, victims, theories, photographs, writings, newspaper articles and other information.
"There is no shortage of suspects, either," he adds. (The website lists 25, along with the pros and cons of each candidate).
Will the real killer ever be found?
"Personally, I don’t think we’ll ever find out," says Ryder. "There’s always that sliver of hope, but I doubt it."
With every year, the case recedes further into the past, but time has not dulled the public’s appetite. It is a puzzle for the ages and as such, draws those with interests in all aspects of it - its place in history, its significance as a crime and its element of horror. Author Patricia Cornwell is the latest to leap into the the fray with her new book, which fingers painter Walter Sickert as the likely killer.
Other enthusiasts of the case, however, have their own favorite suspects. The royal family is a frequent target, either singly, in the person of Prince Albert Victor, or in the form of a conspiracy that includes Sir William Gull, Queen Victoria’s personal physician. (Ryder says that the royal theory is easily disproven by scholars - but that has not stopped the buzz about it). The Johnny Depp movie, "From Hell," awakened even more popular interest and brought up the prospect of a Masonic connection- a stigma Masons have fought for years.
Ryder says there are those "who get really stuck on one suspect and don’t want to hear about anyone else." Still, he notes, those who prowl the website, and those who attend the conference are generally interested in others’ opinions and in sharing their fascination with a historic murder case.
The website provides in-depth analysis of the possible suspects, as well as refutations for various arguments for and against them.
A large part of the problem continues to be the fact that the case is now more than 115 years old. At the time of the murder, Ryder, explains, police investigation was not as sophisticated as it is now. There was no psychological profiling, no DNA evidence and very few ways of sealing a crime scene. Police either had to catch someone in the act or hear a confession.
Additionally, Ryder says, because the crimes were so bizarre and gruesome, the police assumed that the murderer was a large, loud, violent, obviously insane man. Given what is now known about serial killers, such as Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy, the opposite was most likely true.
"The real Jack the Ripper was probably a soft-spoken individual who did not draw attention to himself. I doubt whether the person who was the killer was ever suspected by anyone," says Ryder.
"There was all kinds of conjecture about who he was," says Cook, "all kinds of conjecture. The people he killed were people with no future. "
This could indicate that the killer thought the murders were a way of purifying society, he adds. Cook will give a three-part presentation at the conference: a slide show about Jack London, a close examination of People of the Abyss, with emphasis on specific references made by London to Jack the Ripper, and "my customary pitch for Jack London as one of the greatest writers who has ever lived."
Don’t dismiss it as hyperbole without considering the source. Cook, who is also Associate Professor of American Literature at CCBC-Dundalk, is currently working on his dissertation on London.
He is a three-time award winner from the National Endowment for the Humanities who has published two books and numerous articles on issues in contemporary education, including school reform, portfolios and assessment, and reading and writing across the curriculum.
He serves on the Advisory Board of the Jack London Foundation, Glen Ellen, California, and was named Jack London "Man of the Year" by the Foundation in January 2002. He speaks regularly to local groups on the subject of Jack London.
Cook says he is looking forward to addressing conference attendees, most of whom are devotees of the case (known as Ripperologists). There is, he says, much to be learned from the writings of London who, even years after Jack the Ripper’s crimes had gone cold, found that the killer remained at the forefront of people’s minds.
He flips through People of the Abyss and finds the passage he is looking for, in which London discusses a moment when he stopped to question a man on the street.
"What he writes here is that the man looked at him and moved away, as though possibly he thought London might be Jack the Ripper," Cook says, his eyes lighting up with amusement.
So who was the killer?
Cook doesn’t really provide a theory since, as he likes to remind his audience, his interest is in the period, not so much in the case itself.
"It almost doesn’t matter," he adds. "It’s the social conditions we want to look at."
Just don’t get the idea that Jack London was that Jack, by the way. He has a pretty good alibi. He was only 12 at the time.
Note: "Jack the Ripper: The Third Biennial Conference" takes place in Baltimore from April 16-18. Information on the conference, and on the Jack the Ripper case in general, can be found at www.casebook.org.
http://baltimoreguide.com/selead2.html
Stephen P. Ryder, Editor
Casebook: Jack the Ripper |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 612
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 10:31 am: | |
Hi, Stephen:
Good work on getting the local press coverage in the Baltimore Guide. I think it would be good to drum up some local interest here in the Baltimore area. 
All the best
Chris |
Brian W. Schoeneman
Inspector
Username: Deltaxi65
Post Number: 313
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2004 - 2:43 pm: | |
Spry,
Good work on the coverage. You guys should send out some press releases, or do a media advisory. And if you all go, you finally get to meet me.  Not that that's a big deal, as Spryder and the gang have already.
B |
Ally
Inspector
Username: Ally
Post Number: 329
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 29, 2004 - 11:05 am: | |
We are mere weeks away from the spectacular, fantabulous Baltimore conference! Can't wait to get drunk with you all.
 |
Brad McGinnis
Inspector
Username: Brad
Post Number: 155
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 29, 2004 - 11:09 pm: | |
Me too! three, four, five. six. seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25.
|
Kelly Robinson
Police Constable
Username: Kelly
Post Number: 2
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:14 pm: | |
I look so forward to meeting everyone there! I'm also curious, while I'm there, is there any reason I can't distribute my magazine to everyone?
|
Stephen P. Ryder
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 3002
Registered: 10-1997
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:23 pm: | |
Hi Kelly -
What kind of magazine is it? Please email me and I'll be happy to discuss it with you.
Stephen P. Ryder, Editor
Casebook: Jack the Ripper |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 648
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2004 - 12:43 pm: | |
Hi all:
I was interviewed by writer Adam Stone for an article to appear in The Jewish Times a national publication that is published in Baltimore, in connection with my talk at the conference on "Jack the Ripper and the Jewish East End." The article should contain quotes from myself and Stephen Ryder. The staff photographer took some shots of me with part of my collection of Ripper books and mags and Jewish East End books plus a couple of edged weapons.  The photographs were taken across the street from my apartment building, at the Ambassador Apts., a 1930's structure which has an old world Sherlock Holmes feel to it.
Stephen and I understand that the article should appear in the issue due out this Friday and should be on-line later this week at their website of http://www.jewishtimes.com/.
All the best
Chris |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 728
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 12:00 pm: | |
TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT! 
Baltimore Conference - April 2004!!!
   
Looking forward to seeing a lot of you at the BWI Comfort Inn tonight. It should be a great time.
I need photos of the event for the May issue of Ripperologist as I will be doing the write-up on the happenings in Baltimore. If anyone can supply digital photos of the weekend I would be more than appreciative. Ta! 
All the best
Chris George
North American Editor
Ripperologist
editorctrip@yahoo.com
http://www.ripperologist.info |
Dan Norder
Police Constable
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 5
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 2:18 pm: | |
Wish I could be there, but couldn't swing it this year.
I also would like photos (and write ups, if possible) for... uh, for something that hasn't been officially announced here yet. Of course it'd be nice if they weren't the same photos that Chris would use, unfortunately Ripperologist will be out a couple months sooner (than, uh, this other project) so I'm sure he'll get first dibs on everything. Occupational hazard. Scooped in my own country. Ah well.
But anyway, sorry to miss everyone at the conference. Hope you all have fun and don't get too wild! |
Christopher T George
Chief Inspector
Username: Chrisg
Post Number: 729
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 3:35 pm: | |
Hi, Dan
Sorry you won't be with us. Maybe someone could send you some exclusive shots of the naughty bits we can't ahem publish in Ripperologist for your, er, so-far-unmentionable project that hasn't been officially announced? 
All my best
Chris
Bye for now folks... probably will post some updates over the weekend.  |
Chris Michetti
Detective Sergeant
Username: Pl4tinum
Post Number: 127
Registered: 2-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 16, 2004 - 3:44 pm: | |
Awesome... have a great time everyone and bring us back some juicy tidbits of info and pix ;)
Chris 
|
Stephen P. Ryder
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 3048
Registered: 10-1997
| | Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 4:01 pm: | |
Well, we just made it back home and I have to say, Baltimore-2004 was a blast. I'm dead tired, but here's a small collection of photographs from the event. Captions may come later after I've slept a good 24-hours or so.....
http://casebook.org/2004/
Stephen P. Ryder, Editor
Casebook: Jack the Ripper |
Suzi Hanney
Chief Inspector
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 678
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 4:57 pm: | |
Stephen!!!
Great pix!!! love the bird!!! What happened to the last 4 or shouldnt I ask.....I've got some like that from Liverpool! Any joy with the print???
Sleep well you!
all best
Suzi |
Emily Robinson
Police Constable
Username: Emily
Post Number: 1
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 18, 2004 - 10:49 pm: | |
In spite of my regrettable facial expressions in the photos in which I feature, I had a WONDERFUL time and will be attending forever and ever, amen(or until the Boodles runs out). Thanks Stephen, Judy, all the new friends, and all the speakers/contributors and attendees for an eye-opening and enjoyable weekend. |
|
Use of these
message boards implies agreement and consent to our Terms of Use.
The views expressed here in no way reflect the views of the owners and
operators of Casebook: Jack the Ripper.
Our old message board content (45,000+ messages) is no longer available online, but a complete archive
is available on the Casebook At Home Edition, for 19.99 (US) plus shipping.
The "At Home" Edition works just like the real web site, but with absolutely no advertisements.
You can browse it anywhere - in the car, on the plane, on your front porch - without ever needing to hook up to
an internet connection. Click here to buy the Casebook At Home Edition.
|
|
|
|
