Answers: Jack the Ripper
Introduction
This section was made much easier if you located the graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. This is by no means easy, in fact I (Pablo) don't even have several of the 10 volumes myself. Apparently they can all be found on http://www.execpc.com/~pauer/fromhell.html or possibly on http://www-personal.umich.edu/~troq/Comix/fhell.html although I haven't tried either myself.
It is a comic version of the Jack the Ripper story, which takes as its central premise a grand conspiracy involving Queen Victoria's son Prince Eddy being blackmailed by prostitutes, with her physician, chief Freemason and total nutcase Sir William Gull being employed to polish them off in cahoots with his coachman, Netley. I use the word 'comic' cautiously as there is very little among the (literally) graphic scenes of sex and butchery that is remotely amusing.. Ideal material then for all the family to gather round over the Christmas period.
The 'From Hell' logo, the text beginning "It is my belief...", the map showing the sites of the murders along with various other elements which are crucial to Moore's conspiracy theory, and the picture of Sir William Gull on the last page, are all taken from the graphic novel.
In our version of the map, the victims' names have been replaced with the dates of birth of various monarchs - Henry V, Henry VI, Edward IV and Edward V - next in the sequence was Richard III [9], who was born at Fotheringay on 2 October 1452, a forward reference to Stage 3.
The Questions
Answers to all these except the last two can be obtained from any good Ripper reference, such as The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden or the 'Ripperweb' site http://ripper.wildnet.co.uk/.
1. Who was Leather Apron? He was generally agreed to be John Pizer [4], a nutter who wandered around the East End wearing a leather apron stuffed with a large collection of knives and who, for some odd reason, became a Ripper suspect.
2. Who was found by Louis Diemschultz and Isaac Kozebrodski? Elizabeth Stride [1], first of the Ripper's two victims on 30 September 1888.
3. What was on the staircase of Nos 108 - 119 Wentworth Model Dwellings? A piece of Elizabeth Stride's apron and the graffiti "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing" [2]
4. Who ordered it removed? Sir Charles Warren [3], chief of police, ordered that the graffiti be immediately removed, presumably fearing an anti-Semitic backlash (but would a Jew have written such a message?).
5. Who once lived at Stora Tumlehed? Elizabeth Stride [1] again, once known as Elisabeth Gustafsdottir and brought up at the farm so named just north of Gothenburg.
6. What did Matthew Packer claim to have sold to a man and a woman on 29 September? Half a pound of black grapes [1], which he claimed were purchased by a man accompanied by Elizabeth Stride shortly before her untimely end. Packer's testimony is unreliable to say the least - however, drugged grapes do play a role in Alan Moore's version of events.
7. What disturbed the sleep of Elizabeth Prater by crawling over her neck? Her pet kitten, Diddles [3]. As she awoke she heard a cry of Murder! but, thinking nothing of it, went back to sleep. She was the neighbour of Ripper victim Mary Kelly.
8. What game was played by Montague Druitt? Mainly cricket [4], as he taught it at a private school and was Director of Morden & Blackheath CC. His suicide at the end of 1888 has led to him being identified (perhaps a little too conveniently) as the Ripper. In Moore's book Druitt is himself murdered to cloud the trail to William Gull.
9. With which literary form do you associate Alan Moore? Graphic Novels [4] - he wrote the groundbreaking Watchmen as well as the excellent V for Vendetta, both essential if you still think comics are for children. If you survive those, go on to From Hell.
10. Who does he think it was? As stated earlier, Moore gives the nod to Sir William Gull [6].
The Code
The recipe for Kidneys Turbigo was meant to recall the half kidney sent to George Lusk, chairman of the Mile End Vigilance Committee. It was accompanied by a letter reading:
From Hell. Mr Lusk Sor, I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother I fried and ate it was very nise I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you will only wate a whil longer. Signed - Catch me when you can Mishter Lusk.
Reference to the recipe will reveal a couple of words have a number after them - 'half' (9) and 'a' (46) which correspond to the positions of these words in the 'From Hell' letter. This is the key to the code. Each pair of numbers refers to a word in the text above, and the letter within that word. The message is [11]:
OLD SUN AFPTHILL
(the F is a mistake - the code should have read 14.4 to give an M).
The Last Page
The final page of the Jack the Ripper clues shows a calendar with 14, 21 and 28 December marked. There is also a parir of clocks showing 12.30 and 2.00. Clearly these were the dates and times to obtain your Stage 3 clues at the Old Sun, Ampthill [9]. The pub itself is shown in a grainy sepia photograph which Pablo is rather proud of having 'doctored'.
The remainder gives various clues to Ampthill and to Stage 3 (Mary Queen of Scots).
"The House Beautiful" is one of the sites in The Pilgrim's Progress, and Bunyan himself is shown in the portrait. The House Beautiful was based on Houghton House, just outside Ampthill [4].
The quote about Richard Nicolls and his brass is taken from a guide to Ampthill [6].
The lyrics are from a song, written by the incomparable Sandy Denny, called Fotheringay [7]. It was recorded on the Fairport Convention album What We Did On Our Holidays. When Denny left Fairport Convention she formed her own band named after this song. The lyrics, of course, describe the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots and the missing word is "Fotheringay" - the treasure is buried in the village of the same name.
The mythical creature is a Phoenix. According to the Guinness Book of Signs and Symbols it was adopted as a badge by both Mary Queen of Scots and (confusingly) Elizabeth I. No one realised this [14].
The picture of a mermaid is a reproduction of a placard that appeared after the murder of Mary Queen of Scot's husband, Darnley. The hare (see the Astronomy section and its Masquerade references) was from Bothwell's crest and a mermaid is a symbol of a whore [9].
We were disappointed that no one (especially no ATH regulars) cracked An Armchair Treasure Hunt wordplay refers Mary's address openly. Apart from being literally true (her 'address' of Fotheringay is in there even if not particularly 'openly'), the phrase is an anagram of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers and surfers. Now fancy not getting that! [14]
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