University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 32, May 22

             Student 'Ripperologist' gains fame on the web
     
     With his dimples and disarming smile, Stephen P. Ryder,
Delaware '99, looks like the boy-next-door. It's hard to
imagine that the soft-spoken anthropology major also is a
rising star in the field of "Ripperology"-the study of "The
Ripper"-Jack, that is.
     Actually, the polite sophomore from Paramus, N.J., is
somewhat surprised himself by his sudden fame and acceptance
in Ripper circles. He owes it all to a hobby and to the
World Wide Web.
     Fascinated with the world's most notorious unsolved
serial killing since his sophomore year in high school,
Ryder was surfing the web for Ripper information last
January when Winter Session left him with time on his hands.
     To his surprise, not much was available on the infamous
case. Contacting Britain's Mark Dooling, the creator of a
Jack The Ripper web site game, Ryder asked for some free web
space.
     From there, the Jack the Ripper Casebook was born, a
"hobby" that now consumes so much of Ryder's time and money
that he has begun to sell reprints of Ripper lore to support
the award-winning site.
     "So little is known about Jack the Ripper, it's the
ultimate murder mystery," Ryder said, explaining his
fascination with the case. "It embodies every aspect of a
good Agatha Christie book. The murders took place right in
the middle of the street and no one saw them, things like
that. For a while, people thought the Ripper was really the
Duke of Clarence, and there is a theory that there was a
royal cover-up. It all makes for great literature."
     According to the Ryder's Casebook, Jack the Ripper is
the popular name given to a serial killer who murdered a
number of prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888. The
name originates from a letter published at the time of the
killings, written by someone who claimed to be the killer.
     Although the case is infamous, its facts continue to be
unclear. Much of the original evidence gathered at the time
has been lost, and many "facts" are actually the opinions of
various writers who have followed the case during the past
century.
     Although the Ripper was not the first serial killer, he
was the first to appear in a large metropolis at a time when
the general populace had become literate and the press was
an established force for social change.
     "It's also the first case where there was no known
motive," Ryder said. "The police didn't know what to make of
it. They were looking for someone who would be obvious-
someone sort of foaming at the mouth."
     What they found were more questions. It's not even
clear, Ryder said, exactly how many victims the Ripper had.
It is generally accepted that there were five, although some
think the number is only four and others say there are as
many as seven.
     Although he must have his own theories, Ryder himself
is quiet when it comes to voicing his opinions, being
careful to maintain the objective eye of a web page editor.
     "There are new theories every year, and people get very
attached to their theories," he said. "People have sued
people for things they've said about theories. I try to be
very careful."
     Once he started the web site, Ryder said, mail began
pouring in.
     "People kept sending me new pieces every few weeks, and
pretty soon the site had expanded to a research site," he
explains.
     Although there are now several people who help Ryder
keep up with the information on the web page, he said most
of his friends "think I'm a nut."
     "And," he said, "this really isn't in line with any of
my career goals. I'm interested in physical anthropology and
maybe forensics, but not in a criminal sense."
     On the other hand, he said it would be nice to be able
to get some academic credit for his work on the web site,
and he does admit that thousands of people have made careers
out of Jack the Ripper-in research, in writing, in running
Jack the Ripper clubs and in the movies.
     This summer, Ryder will join other UD students on an
archeological dig at a Native American site in New Mexico.
It will be the longest time he has ever been away from the
web site, and he jokes about having withdrawal symptoms.
     Do his parents worry about his obsession with a serial
killer?
     "Nah, but they made me rent my own mailbox; they were
getting too much mail from people who read the page," he
said, which is not that unusual considering almost 83,000
persons accessed the site in its first year.
     To join the thousands of people worldwide who have
accessed Ryder's award-winning page, go to
http://ripper.wildnet.co.uk
                                                -Beth Thomas