Crimes That Made History — Season 1, Episode 1: Jack the Ripper: The Invention of the Serial Killer

Episode synopsis

In 1888, a series of gruesome murders shocked London: The perpetrator was dubbed "Jack the Ripper". This was the Victorian era, when puritanism reigned and forensic science was in its infancy. How did these factors combine to create one of the most renowned crime stories in history, resulting in the construction of the serial killer?

About Crimes That Made History

Crimes and bloody tales that made the headlines usually reveal a lot about the hidden fantasies of their time. From Jack the Ripper to the Andes crash, the ten episodes of this collection shed a black light on a page of history that left a mark on their time.

More episodes from Season 1

• E2Albert Soleilland: A Case for the Death Penalty
• E3Fritz Haarmann: Vampire in the Weimar Republic
• E4The St. Valentine's Massacre: Gang Rule in America
• E5Violette Nozière: The Patricidal Poisoner
• E6Abe Sada: The Fantasy of Japanese Eroticism
• E7Roswell: Back to the UFO
• E8Flight 571: Acceptable Face of Cannibalism
• E9The Jonestown Massacre: An American Apocalypse
• E10The Death of Princess Di