Jack be nimble, Jack be quick....

J is for Jack the Ripper.....

"Jack" as he came to be called--- also known as "The Whitechapel Murderer" and "Leather Apron". The sensationalized, unidentified serial killer that brought Victorian London to its knees.

It was not safe to be a woman in the East End during the 1880s, especially a woman of the night.

Whitechapel became a place of dread and a feeding ground for macabre sensationalists. Public confidence in local authorities was shaken as one-by-one, "Jack" added another tragic soul to his list of conquests. His manner of execution was such that many remarked he must have had some medical training. Was he using these unfortunate women as a means of furthering some surgical 'fantasy'? Or, as a means of experimenting where he would have otherwise been shunned by other respected colleagues?

Whatever the reason for his dark and sadistic treatment of women, because he remained unnamed and free, "Jack" provided the imagination of the world with the epitome of evil. For, what fiction could ever be imagined that would equal the truth of these real horrors?

Even now, the unnamed man can only be described as a spectre, a shadow, a shapeless form without feature and, one assumes, without heart or conscience.

And, as mysteriously as this dastardly figure materialized, he was at once, gone ... just as mysteriously.

Was this spectral figure fact? Or, fiction? Was it the workings of one man? Or, a collection of unconnected, yet coincidentally similar crimes? Whatever the answers to any of these questions might be, we may never know, for indeed "Jack" was both nimble.... and quick....

A-Z Reflections, year 4....

A-Z blogging challenge for 2014 has come and gone, seemingly without my realizing it. And, though I fell behind once or twice toward the end, I finished this year's challenge right on time. Really, I can't believe it's already over. I feel like I just finished my post for letter A... Year 4, for this blogger, was a far cry from the tortured state of despondency that was most of Year 3 -- I'll not mention the irony of this year's focus on death being easier to blog about than last year's foray into supernatural creatures, we'll leave that for my therapy sessions *ahem* As always, A-Z brought with it, not only 26 days of unbridled and far-reaching knowledge (disguised as entertaining and thought-provoking blog-posts), but a chance to connect with new faces while reconnecting with familiar faces--who had perhaps drifted away--from A-Z's past. I am always amazed by the ingenuity and inspiration that comes from lumping a couple thousand folk...

K is for Kelpie.....

Today's entry is dedicated to my wonderful social club pledge sister, who sent me off from our college sanctuary with a copy of "Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales", containing an inscription that the "magic and mischief of the Kelpie follow me".... She knew I had an affinity for water and for mischief...and for all-things Celtic--so the Kelpie seemed to suit---- though, I'm not quite as savage as many folktales paint Kelpies. Kelpies are Celtic water horses, believed to haunt the lochs and rivers of Scotland and Ireland. The Kelpie was known to appear as a "lost pony", though, its identity is given away by its constantly dripping mane. Most stories give the color of the Kelpie's coat as black, though there are a few that mention the color white. The texture of the Kelpie's skin is likened to the smoothness of a seal, but its temperature is "cold as death to the touch." Like many other tales of supernatural creatures, the Kelpie...

Bitter Honey

Weaving dreams of beguiling gold, a future's price for happiness. What secrets do you, determined, hold? asks the summer wind's soft caress. A guarded name, a hidden hope. Spinning wheels clutching time, grasping straw that falls away, What dreams may come, we soon may find, won't recall at end of day. A cherished life, a memory lost.

From the Inkwell, From the Vein.....

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