The East End of Whitechapel, London, England will be forever frozen in national history due to the horrific murders and mutilations of five British prostitutes. The murders committed by the self-proclaimed "Jack the Ripper" have remained unsolved since the massacre began in August 1888. The true identity of the killer has yet to be revealed. This fact creates much controversy for the English people. For the past 126 years, research has been incessant, but the lack of evidence has led criminologists to the same dead end. Recently, the "ripper industry" has turned into an empire“More has probably been written about this case than any other example of armor historiography (perhaps excluding Shakespeare's true identity and Kennedy's assassination),” says William D. Rubinstein, novelist behind 'The Hunt for Jack the Ripper.' Many novels, films, and television programs have been published, all focusing solely on the century-old controversy over the true identity of history's first serial killer. Since 1888 hundreds of candidates have been put forward as Jack the Ripper. Accusations ranging from Oxford scholars to common chimney sweeps, madmen to a member of the royal family. For years, no one was blamed and Whitechapel remained haunted by a killer no one ever saw. Whitechapel is located one mile from the Bank of London. The city was infamous for its relationship with urban poverty and city poverty. absolute lack of cleanliness. The East End was commonly called "The Abyss" by middle-class Londoners. As written in Charles Booth...... middle of paper......steries.com/usm84617.html>."Jack the Ripper." Encyclopedia Britannica Online school edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 October 2010. Web. 18 October 2010. "Mary Ann Nichols." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Network. February 21, 2011. "Sassy Jack." CYB3RCRIM3. Network. 01 November 2010. "Jack the Ripper's Letter 'From Hell'." Jack the Ripper: history, victims, letters, suspects. Network. 18 October 2010.Carrington, Hereward. "Casebook: Jack the Ripper - The Secret History of Jack the Ripper." Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Main. Network. 27 September 2010. .File:FromHellLetter.jpg." Wikimedia Commons. Web. 25 October. 2010. .