Time Travelling with Jack the Ripper on Page and Screen

Abstract

The article discusses time-travelling Jack the Ripper narratives, the majority being short stories and episodes of TV series. Despite their different temporal foci – late-Victorian past, present, distant future – the texts revolve around four ways of depicting the mysterious murderer: as a timeless force, a killer who uses time travel to escape, a killer whose deeds are to be prevented, and, last but not least, a tool in the hands of future generations. They also indicate that creators and consumers of popular culture are not interested in discovering the Ripper’s identity as much as want to follow him through centuries.