Jack the Ripper museum sparks uproar over glorifying woman-killer
Rights groups say there's nothing educational about museum and no reason to celebrate his infamy
Jack the Ripper is back in the London headlines, in time for Halloween.
The killer himself is long gone. His days of terrorizing the city's East End finished in 1888, perhaps a few years later depending on how many murders he's really responsible for. No one is sure of that, or of who he was.
But his name still stirs strong emotions: fascination, for those who have set up a museum in his name. Disgust, for those who say the small, private museum glorifies a vile killer of women.
- AS IT HAPPENS | Residents upset at Jack the Ripper museum
That argument has led to protests as the museum invites Londoners to a "fun and educational" look at Jack the Ripper's legacy. In particular, the museum says it will give people the chance to see that era through the eyes of the women he killed and mutilated: five at least, possibly as many as 13. He targeted poor prostitutes in an era when women had very few rights or opportunities.
Women's rights groups say there is nothing educational about the museum and no reason to celebrate London's most infamous serial killer of women. They worry it risks making Jack the Ripper a hero, at a time of year when all things ghoulish are all the rage. For Halloween, they plan another protest.
Watch CBC correspondent Sasa Petricic's full report.