Why the Ripper is a legend when he is not the first of his kind: Jack the Ripper vs The Servant Girl Annihilator

 

Introduction

Popular culture has always used Jack the Ripper (Ripper) and his well-known murders as the epitome of the serial killer and bogeyman.  The character has become legendary within a horror field and has had many books, films, plays even music that surrounds his motives and who he is, but before the Ripper was The Servant Girl Annihilator (Annihilator). These murders even in the recent flurry of serial killer documentaries have been completely over-looked. These two series of murders were similar in activity, social and media influence and social advancements but the Annihilator has faded out of memory whereas the Ripper is not only still in memory but is still important in popular culture.  

In analysing both the cases and surrounding context it is apparent that despite the similarities there maybe important reasons as to why the Ripper gained the infamy that he did but the reasons why the Annihilator didn’t are less apparent but can be speculated upon. Using information regarding both events and two novelisations of the events “Jack the Ripper ” and “A Twist at the end ” it is possible to explore the reasons behind the differing reactions to serial murder as it appeared in the 19th Century and endured into contemporary society.

Initially, the Annihilator’s lack of infamy makes sources to analyse are difficult to find and many of the sources that do surround these horrific events may not be at an academic level but the events themselves are described along with confirmable contextual information. The available sources as shown are novelised versions of events as opposed to academic sources, with additional sources of documentaries within popular culture. However, using these, it is possible to understand the possible reasoning behind the difference in the two killers. 

Murderous Comparison

In 1885, Austin Texas, before the horrific serial murders of Jack the Ripper, a reign of terror began and endured for almost the entirety of 1885.  When compared with the murders of the Ripper there were more confirmed victims. The Ripper had five canonical victims and recently even those victims have been questioned,  whereas the Annihilator has seven murderers and three further serious injuries. There is the possibility of an eighth victim, however, seven of the murders have a similar Modus Operandi and have been attributed to the same killer, one is questionable as the assault was different and the weapon was different. The victims were attacked around the head either to disable them or kill them, with the main targets being sexually assaulted and brutally killed beaten or hacked in the head. Some of those attacked died from wounds later but the main victims were found dead.

The Ripper’s victims, if you go by canonical victims, were all found dead from surgical wounds as opposed to aggresively, the lacerations and removal of viscera became Modus Operandi (MO). Therefore, the motives and MO, although may have some connection with the idea that the women were prostitutes, appear very different, with the Annihilator being more violent. It is possible that the victims were chosen because they were prostitutes but it was not the sin involved but the lack of attention from society.  This is arguably the same reason that the Annihilator chose black women, in many of the southern states after the American civil war there was unrest that the slaves had been freed and the authority still perceived the black community as less than the white.  This is also reflected by the fact that the attention to the crimes changed when the white women were killed, also suggesting that the black females killed were practise to the killer before his actual target being the well-to-do Eula Phillips. 

The victims were, as with the Ripper, women of the working-class being targeted, for what appears to be perceived wrong-doings.  The women appeared to be either unmarried and living with a partner or possibly committing acts of adultery. The District Attorney at the time E T Moore began to profile the killer as a hater of women as the Ripper had been argued to be but in Austin his claims were dismissed.  However, the correlation between the motives behind the two crimes were interesting, considering the difference in infamy. The important difference between the women in the main was their race, many of the victims of the Annihilator were black women. America had very recently finished a bloody civil war in which the slaves were freed and although as Austin grew it was more liberal than many other southern cities there was extreme racial tensions and segregation was apparent. 

Austin had rapidly grown since 1865 and the end of the civil war, from under 5000 inhabitants to almost 20000, many of these being recently freed slaves and movement to Austin for unskilled work. This meant that there was a lot of changing residents and increased pressure on the land along with an increased pressure on the police force. According to Huddleston, the police force during 1885 had not changed since the influx of residents and was twelve men and a leader who was underqualified and given the job because of his father’s influence.  This was vastly different from the available resources for the Whitechapel murders. However, both cities as they industrialised and grew found there was a drastic increase in crime. 

Huddleston proffers that the Austin Police were ill-equipped to deal with a town of the size and because of this he argues that the Marshal Lee, tended towards ignoring crime and hoping it went away, he assumed the main bulk of the crimes committed by a more transient community and they would move on.  He was aware of the influx of people particularly at this time of the unskilled and ex-convicts, to which he attributed the increase in crime. In Austin, there was significant racial tensions, much of the south had fought to uphold slavery and the freedom of slaves only enhanced ill-feeling.  Therefore, crimes against the black population no matter how serious were marginalised. This is apparent with the Annihilator as the initial victims were predominantly black and the major impacts came when the killer began attacking rich white women. 

This differs from the Ripper in that all the murders that are attributed to the killer are white women, working-class, but white women. Although, Britain had abolished slavery in 1833, according to Bell, there were small black communities in the dock towns and although one of those would be in the east-end of London it seemed a less dominant form of racism.  Beadle, argues that the most dominant form of racism in London was aimed towards the Jewish and eastern European population.  The Ripper reflects this as the Jews and eastern European population were harassed for the deaths of the Whitechapel victims.  However, as with some areas of Austin, London’s east-end was a neighbourhood where crime was rife. It was an area of poor people and the police were wary of entering the area alone.  

Further to this, the events link again in that the police forces set to investigate the murders were inadequate and ill-equipped. In Austin, the police force had not changed in the years leading up to the growth of the city. Prior to the Civil war the small rustic town of less than 5000 had an ample force of twelve men but the rapid growth post-civil war had required an increased police force as it had in New York, but this was not done.  The most advanced “technology” that was available to this force was the use of dogs and this failed at every occasion. In comparison, the Ripper had more resources, being a capital city, there were far more officers and far more people. Nonetheless, the technology available to them was similar and despite the increased population there were no witnesses or leads in the Ripper case. In fact, the New York police department suggested that the London police were incompetent. The Austin case, therefore, seemed more likely to be incapable of being able to solve these murders, but the new serial murder that was appearing in civilised society were harder to investigate.

The investigation of these crimes is also a good comparison as with the Annihilator investigations had definite eye-witnesses, they were usually children and rarely gave any usable information. In fact, during the Gracie Vance murder event, two killed and two wounded, the assailant was seen by her employer, but he was unable to apprehend him. Despite this the Annihilator and the Ripper were both left with either no description or confused descriptions about the murderer. The murders in both cases also leave time between their murders, the Annihilator begins slowly and speeds up and ends with a double event, in the most symbolic and violent manner. Whereas, the Ripper had his double event half way through but ended with the most violent death with possible symbolism. The police in both cases went straight for ex-lovers instead of linking them together.

Like the Ripper case, however, the Austin police force began to round up possible suspects for no more reason than their race. According to the Austin Statesmen 400 black men were arrested, and the ex-lovers but the police were unable to charge them. This was mirrored by the reaction of the London police with George Chapman, Joseph Barnett and John Stride all of whom were and, in some cases, still are viable suspects for the Ripper. However, in Austin during the trials of the two white husbands the two crimes, on 24th December 1885, within an hour of each other the two were not linked together within the trials. History Detectives argued that the trials of the two men were show trials to have a murderer for the new white murders.  The trials were for political gain and eventually were overturned, but the fact that quickly men were charged for the white murders over the previous killings adds to the contemporary feelings of racism.

The newspapers in both areas have vast influence on the murders and shows the foundations for the birth of mass media.  In London, the killer had more apparent contact with the mass media, but both had dominant newspapers that relayed sensationalised information from the murders. The Ripper had the added impetus of the nickname created by the media for him whereas the Annihilator, although named as such in 1885, was not referred to this way by the media and this may have had an impact on his infamy.  The two cases were some of the first “local” crime stories to become international news. Many of the infamous US villains made their way to England, but this was the first “simple” murder.  The Ripper in turn made his way to the US with sensational stories of doctors, occultist and brutal murder allowing the population and police force to criticise the Whitechapel police.  However, with their own unsolved serial murder the US may have birthed the serial killer. This is ironic as many of the iconic images of Jack the Ripper in popular culture are American in origin and with some suspects America claim a link to Jack the Ripper.  

Contextually, both these cases are similar, both concentrate on women, in the main both concentrate on the working-class, each case seems to be significantly affected by racial views and fear of “the other”, both were fuelled by media attention and each appeared to have a moral motive resulting in social change. However, the racial issues in Austin are more noticeable within the investigation of the murders, along with the reactions of society towards the murders.  The idea of black women being murdered although frightening until children became involved they were marginalised and when the murderer moved from the poor to the rich and from black to white the investigation lead to possible vigilantism and drastic social change.  All of which may affect its viability for transference into contemporary popular culture.

Popular Culture and the first serial killer.

When exploring the reason behind the Ripper’s popularity as a monster there is a plethora of available material. The popularity of the supposed first serial killer cannot be questioned, all serial killers after, have been judged in comparison to him.  There are huge displays and almost memorials to the murders and in all areas of popular media there are homages to his horror.  The Annihilator, in comparison, has very little, fairly recently there has been novelisations and a possible film in pre-production  but that remains the entirety of the infamy for the earlier serial killer.  For this reason, analysis of popular culture images can be explored via the novelisations, but the lack of interest in the Annihilator is noticeable and important. 

Jack the Ripper by Mark Daniel. 

Mark Daniel’s novel is one of many throughout popular media that has concentrated on the Ripper. Film, television, literature, computer games, music and theatre have all had connection with the Ripper murders, but Jack the Ripper the novelisation seems to have covered more media than many having been a novel, on television and inspiration for film. This novel is one of the few pieces that doesn’t specifically concentrate on a retelling of the story by the author, but it suggests that it’s a retelling of the incidents from one of the detectives who were involved. 

This work is from the memory of Detective Godley as he sits in a hospice, he speaks to the father of the author and within the prologue the author specifies that he used his father’s notes and Godley in his advanced age of 85, according to the story, he retells the tale.  Daniel uses the direct connection to add intrigue to his story but also allows the audience to make their own decision about the Ripper. The mystery surrounding the Ripper is important for his infamy and Colville suggests that the sheer number of diverse number of suspects allows an inclusive mystery, there is a suspect for everyone.  Daniel also offers an epitomised list; he offers the royal conspiracy, the doctor, the apparent working-class rebel and the policeman. At the beginning of the novel Godley is portrayed as a strong character, despite his age, and his memory appears to be intact but as with any memory-based story there are issues with it, which Daniel’s addresses before beginning his story.

Jack the Ripper unlike other popular depictions does not give you the answer, although the television drama changes that. The novel makes it simple for the audience to see which suspect that Daniel’s proposes, but the mystery is not removed. Daniel’s writes the novel as though it is fact despite some discrepancies, even to the point that the novel was written in 1988. This follows his story as the case files of Jack the Ripper would be available to the public, this would add intrigue to the story allowing the audience more interaction with the story.  

The voice of the narrator in each section, whether Godly, father or son, appears authoritative and knowledgeable, it reads like a documentary as opposed to a true-crime fiction. With emphasis on Godly, the police attitude and initiative are noticeable. Each murder is described and investigated using clear and concise language and each factor seems to be explored with an unbiased view. Abberline becomes an anti-hero as opposed to an outright hero, a fallible and normal man, particularly to Godly as they progress through the story, even until the end when he attempts to mete out justice. Godly’s frustration with the red tape surrounding the murderer and the fact that he and Abberline were sworn to secrecy and the telling of the story alone is a small rebellion. 

Godly’s descriptions of society and the murders reflects a dark image of London’s east-end which parallels the contemporary works surrounding London’s east-end.  Although, Daniel’s and Godly seem to concentrate on these crimes as just another murder but the portrayal of the press in this novel. The press comes across as the monster of this piece, in opposition to A twist at the end, the journalists of Jack the Ripper are as vultures looking for salacious gossip. The creation of even the title Jack the Ripper comes from the media, the police pressure and some of the creation of the vigilance committee is helped and furthered by the creation of a scandal press.  This is very apparent in Jack the Ripper, there is significant social awareness and as Smith argues that although horrific, the Ripper murders did create a lot of awareness and social change.  However, Godly almost skirts over the racial aspects of the case. Each of the suspects that are given relate entirely to the modernisation of society and class issues over any racial distinction. 

Jack the Ripper portrays what mainly appears to be a class and morality murders based on the police inability to grow with urbanisation, which is also reflected in the Annihilator case, with London being on a much larger scale. The nature of society in both areas meant that racism was apparent in both areas of different kinds of “other” but the increased immigration of Jews and eastern European people into east London meant that there was going to be some racial tensions but not on the scale that Austin had in the aftermath of the civil war. Godly, when talking about the Ripper murders concentrates on the class issues, this offers the same safety that racism offers in Austin. 

Godly, confers on the reader that the idea of a bang-tail or harlot does not seem important to him or Inspector Abberline.  Each of them from the moment of inception of the case both men are suspicious of conspiracy, because there is no reason to concentrate on a “just another murder.”  From the beginning Daniel’s perceives this case with suspicion and relays the corruption of the upper class. From the royal family to those in command and the government all of which in Jack the Ripper have ulterior motives and do not have the common man in mind with social changes. Godly and Abberline were aware of this and Daniel’s uses emotional change in the police officers particularly with the Kelly murder to reflect the change in societies ability to turn a blind eye to poverty.  Showing that despite the mystery, despite the brutality, despite the media circus and gruesome popularity the Ripper murders appear to have made a difference.

A twist at the end by Steven Saylor. 

A twist at the end, although a novel, tries to accurately reflect the details of the servant girl murders. However, as with any fiction artistic license is used and the murderers that are portrayed as fictitious. There is little mention of the one suspect that has been given for the case and the murderers suggested appearing to be evil from the beginning. It appears that Saylor is attempting to follow the Ripperesque idea of a person in authority using their standing and anonymity to kill in the night. This was never argued to be the case but as Hollandsworth suggests there has been little researched in academia about this case and therefore cannot be discounted.  Although, it does suggest that Saylor wants to add more intrigue around this case and possibly create the phantom figure that the Ripper became. This novel, however, was written in 2000 and appears to have had very little effect on the infamy of the Annihilator. 

Despite the use of supernatural imagery and butchery in contemporary newspaper the Stateman  and the interest of the surrounding states and in fact the international coverage of these attacks, the murders were rarely front-page news. For the international press it seems to be reflected, as in the book, that despite Austin growth and being the capital of Texas, it was still considered a backward place. This inference comes, in the book, from the idea surrounding slavery and what the south fought for which in some ways could go to explain one of the reasons why the Annihilator did not create as strong an image in popular culture.

The way Saylor avoids the issues of racism with the murderers with the use of fictional characters and he does not follow the “profile” of a black killer that has been suggested by PBS.  He uses the societal idea that racial issues almost allowed the murders, with the socially invisible or ignored community.  He relays the killer writing to William Porter saying that they started with “colored women, thinking it would be safer.”  The use of race in this way does not reflect a personal racism but one of an entire community which is notable throughout the exploration of the importance of these murders in history.

A twist at the end follows the idea that society after the American civil war, in Texas specifically shows tensions between the black and white communities with slavery within living memory and many men in authority appear to harbour mistrust and racist attitudes.  With the first interaction with the Marshal being one of suspicion towards a black man who had just lost his job. The portrayal of the marshal in the story is, as shown in the available information, quite accurate. He was given his job through his father’s contacts, but he was in the story given the added dimension of his career as a Texas ranger adding a cold nature to him.

  An interesting addition to this is Saylor portrayal of the reaction of the town authorities as a very similar interaction as that of Abberline in Jack the Ripper when he speaks to Anderson regarding the first Ripper murder.  One of the most important lines in Jack the Ripper regarding the Police force problems “Do you want the killer or will just anyone do?”  The apparent pressure that Abberline is under in this novel is paralleled in A twist at the end with the descriptions of Marshal Lee’s attempts to collar the first “colored man he gets his hands on”.  The difference in these cases however is that the police force in London were already dealing with press attacks on their ability to govern whereas in Austin, the town was progressing and the Marshal himself wants to put this case to bed. Both find the brutality of the crimes they are dealing with meant they needed a swift conclusion but the Marshal and appears to ignore facts given which, the journalist argues is to follow a lazy pattern by the Marshal.

Journalists in Austin, begin to question not only the Marshals ability but his motives and a teacher called Holland even feels the need to work as an advocate for the arrested gentleman to stop an injustice from happening. Lem Brooke’s who was arrested for the crime of killing Mollie Smith had an alibi from many “colored” witnesses which the Marshal and a jury found less credible than the need for an arrest.  Even Brookes when he can leave his cell assumes that he will be executed not being set free. In the confessions of the murderer written in A twist in the end, he reaffirms the racial motives, he does not appear to have any belief of racial inferiority, but he knew that the police force would not investigate the same way. He also argues that the motives behind the killings came from the idea of returning to a certain level of savagery and the assumption of Lee that the murderer was black offers an insight into his beliefs surrounding race and contemporary issues in Austin in 1885. 

A twist at the end within the confessions offers many more murders that the Annihilator may or may not have carried out beyond those in Texas.  The novel argues for killing without any motive, the killings surround a primal need, no other desire than that but the reason behind beginning with black women was the safety aspect and the advancement to white females came from the idea that they were more drawn to “pretty things”  which follows the suggestion of racism in society but also brings the PBS idea that racially serial killers tend to kill within their race and that serial killers first victims and first murders are testing the water for what would follow.  Kringel, one of the two eventual murderers, does not specify any motives but bloodlust within his confession.  

University of Texas has recently covered the idea of the “Servant Girl Annihilator” and Lauren Henley suggests that the new interest within popular culture for serial killers has allowed an overlooked murderer to enter the area of popular culture which begins with A twist at the end.  This novel appears to be the Annihilators debut into the field of popular culture, with a small amount of fictions that followed and documentaries only ever specifically on the annihilator.  As Henley argues although there are many documentaries that cover the serial killer and the motives behind them, whether this be specifically American or just notorious murderers, they skirt over the murders in Austin and begin for the most part with Jack the Ripper, even the PBS special suggests that there is an idea not only that Jack the Ripper links to the US but that popular culture in the US wishes to be associated with the legend that the Ripper has become as opposed to embracing the earlier, more violent murderer from the US who is also unknown.

If not, why not?

History Detectives spoke to a descendant of Eula Phillips and she may have argued the epitome of the reasons why the Annihilator has been almost hidden from popular culture.  She suggests that her family and the city of Austin were ashamed of this serial murder. She said her grandmothers shame appeared to come from the trial afterwards and the inability to protect their family. The trial of Jimmy Phillips, Eula’s husband, brought into scrutiny her life and there were sordid affairs throughout, this harmed their respectability and in the southern states in 1885 respectability was everything. Jimmy Phillips was also sleeping in the same room as his wife and their young son but was unable to stop the attack, which would bring his masculinity into question.  Both affect whether they told their story and in the Phillips case this halted much of the information. For the city itself, the police investigation was questionable at best according to Hollandsworth and was clearly affected by race and class.  The vast changes in the investigations before and after the deaths of the Eula Phillips and Susan Hancock, are still seen in contemporary society to a point and Austin would not want this parallel or the idea to be associated with their progressive city.

Austin, Texas although a new state capital in 1885 was a newly developing city and in comparison, to America’s capital was significantly smaller. Although the population had increased significantly post-civil war this city was still considered a “back-water” city.  With the aftermath of the civil war despite the progressiveness of this city and its newly freed black community the southern states had still fought to keep slavery and the racial implications were apparent in most authorities and governing bodies. The racial aspects of this case are more prominent, these are also very controversial, as with any racism surrounding a case, but the problems of slavery and the southern states of America appear more problematic. The brutality and very fact that the southern states argued to keep slavery make these issues more contentious issues than other racism as they are still apparent if not dominant in some areas of society.  

The unknown nature of the killers, Krawczyk-Zywko argues, is a boon in the case of Jack the Ripper, it allowed film-makers, novelists and artists to use the shadowy figure to create what is now almost a myth.  Meikle argues in fact that the Ripper during his popular culture career joined the realms of such monsters as Dracula and Frankenstein.  Many contemporary television and film medias use the image of this unknown killer as part of a trail of horror. In fact, Blood of the Innocent comic book even pitted Dracula against Jack the Ripper associating the two together using the fictitious and the real together blurring the lines of realism. The Ripper even appears in several Science fiction episodes like “Wolf in the Fold ” as an ancient unknown demon with a need for murder.  The killings of the Ripper however, along with the name came from the influence of the media, his stardom has been attributed to the birth of the gutter press and mass media,  furthered by the evidence that the “Jack the Ripper” name came from letters sent by Journalists. Many academics, including Krawczyk-Zywko, argue that the lack of identity of the Ripper has left him immortalised and as time goes on the possibility of uncovering the final solution is unlikely.  In comparison to the Annihilator which may be avoided due to a more contentious issue. 

Despite the Annihilator also being an unknown entity the tentative and contentious relationship in the US with race may have had an impact on the ability to use this case to create the same ghoulish monster. There is a danger with the Annihilator that further racial tensions could be conveyed if a murderer is named. With much of the Ripper media a final suspect or killer has been named and for the most part one person.  However, the Annihilator suspects are few and far between and any inference of a killer would be almost entirely fictitious and in the contemporary climate it could lead to misunderstanding or misappropriation. It is, unlike the Ripper, impossible for the Annihilator to be explored without the racial context. The factors surrounding not only the victims and the murderer, but the investigation of the murders was drenched in the contemporary racism of the era. The only aspect that appears to tackle the issues with less racial bias is in the media, the newspapers of the time, as noted by Galloway, covered all the murders and linked them together when the police appeared less interested in linking the murders. 

Even when looking back at the murders via the History Detectives and Huddleston’s work the murderer appears to separate when it comes to the black and the white victims. Nathan Elgin appears to be a solid suspect for some writers but mainly for the black victims. Also, the inclusion of Irene Cooks murder, although the MO appears different, follows the possibility of a racial connection to these murders.  Alternatively, with the Ripper, the racial aspect of the crimes was only related to the population. The inclusion of Jewish and eastern European persecution can be avoided completely as the victims were not attached to a race but a class. The Ripper murders controversy surrounds the class of the victims as opposed to their race, the working class felt attacked and insecure as opposed to a race of people.  With class being all but removed or blurred in society from the 60s onwards it is less a controversial issue. 

Finally, social reform can be argued as a reason that the Ripper endured as a figure in Victorian society in comparison to the Annihilator. The Ripper’ contemporary impact, according to Jones, followed a campaign for social reform that concentrated on the poor areas of London which included the notorious Eastend.  Although, the Annihilator indirectly caused social reform in the latter part of the murder investigation, the small number of sources available do not give the impression that any social reform was on the mind of the Annihilator.  The Ripper appears to use the murders in Whitechapel to alert not only Britain but internationally the problems in the east-end of London and the conditions of the working-classes.  Each murder seemed to follow a pattern of awareness, and much of the popular culture give the murders a purpose, for example in From Hell  where the murders become ritualised, not the violent aggression of the Annihilators murders. In The house that Jack built, Frayling even suggests that after the murders with a level of hind-sight the Rippers popularity and endurance comes from the social reformation aspect he almost became a philanthropic.  This suggestion again allows the Ripper to enter the realms of popular culture without difficulty as there are positives and negatives to the reign of terror and you can make them a relatable character in some sense. Whereas, the Annihilator does not have any saving grace and cannot be made a satirical character because of the extra context of race surrounding them.

Conclusion

Although, it is not definitive, it is likely that the Ripper’s long-standing influence over popular culture as opposed to his earlier counterpart surrounds controversy and embarrassment. Despite the contextual racism after the civil war and the progression of the city this incident is not a matter of dark pride, unlike the Ripper. According to Hollandsworth, and the History Detectives Documentary, Austin Texas have attempted to hide the Annihilator or have at the very least been ashamed of the crimes.  As opposed to the reaction to the Ripper which almost instantly turned into a novelty, almost instantly tours were held, and people took commercial advantage of the crimes that happened. Lennon and Foley have written extensively on the tradition of dark tourism and Britain has a long history of enjoyment of the macabre and the gruesome from attendance of hangings to the London Dungeons.  So it’s not surprising that the most sensational murderer was epitomised in history.

When exploring the differences in these two cases many questions arise, whether the Ripper would be as enduring if his victims had more of a connection with racism? Would the Annihilator have been caught if all of his victims had been white? Which would have endured had their locations been had been swapped? Did the social commentary around London’s Eastend and the coincidental time of the Ripper affect his infamy compared to Austin, which although it was a progressive city there was little call for reform?  The Annihilator did cause some reform in the aftermath of the murders, but mainly after the brutality of the double event on Christmas eve 1885 and the deaths of Susan Hancock and Eula Phillips. When Huddleston suggests that curfews were brought in, burglar alarm sales increased, gun sales increased, and new electric lights this was the final murders influence.  These also appear to be aesthetic changes to the city whereas, the Rippers influence on London’s Eastend changed the city drastically but followed a campaign of social reform.  

The nature of popular culture, as popular, means that the images created, or the history told should capture the mind of the population. Although there have been many attempts to tackle the matters surrounding racism in the “Deep South” in the 19th century there are obstacles and contentions which make slavery, the civil war and racial tensions in the US a tentative subject for popular culture to market.  This tension may be a factor towards the reason why the Annihilator has been ignored. Huddleston suggests that the direct connection between racism and the murders makes the subject untenable for popular production,  arguing also that unlike London’s reaction to the Ripper murders Austin was not publicising and almost glorifying the murders. 

Finally, an important difference between these two cases, beyond race and motive, is the societal reaction. This is reflected by reactions reflected in novelisation, popular culture reflections and mainly in the contemporary media. According to Hollandsworth, the Servant Girl Annihilator began a fascination for the American press, the New York World the Annihilator was “a killer who gives history a new sort of crime,”  yet the Ripper “gave birth to the twenty-first century.”  These statements are important because they may reflect the epitome of this argument. The annihilator does not want to be known has no need for validation whereas the Ripper appeared to want infamy.  The phrase use for the Annihilator was written about him and the Ripper’s was written as said by him inferring that ego could affect the infamy of a killer. 

The Ripper case also gained momentum on the back of the Star’s reporting about the police losing control of a part of the capital city of an empire. Whereas the Annihilator entered Austin society at a time of prosperity. Novelisations of the Servant Girl Murders reflect Austin as a progressive place. It is arguably that Austin was meant to be a newly civilised place only increasing in respectability. After the Wild West stories and the American civil war Austin appears to be building a reputation for progressiveness and liberalism, and the appearance of the Annihilator in Austin was just a reminder via the media that Austin wasn’t as progressive and modern as it wanted to be.

Another factor of the media influence came from the Rippers apparent use of the media to gain more notoriety in contemporary media. The letters that were sent to the media were the only ones reported on, but the police received several letters about the murders. The letters have later been suggested as false and sent to the media by journalists to spark further interest and sell more newspapers at the time.  The apparent communication between the media and the murderer however, was new to the serial murderer and the name “Jack the Ripper” and much of the “enigmatic” character of the Ripper came from the letters and many of the later serial killers including BTK and the other mysterious murderer “the Zodiac Killer.” Prior to this, including the Annihilators case, the act of serial murder was an act of violence and nothing to be proud of, but the Ripper letters created a killer who was almost proud of it. Therefore, it seems that media and pride were the main factors for the Rippers infamy.