 Jack the Ripper is the best known name given to an unidentified serial killer generally believed to have been active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888 . The name " Jack the Ripper " originated in a letter written by someone claiming to be the murderer that was disseminated in the media . The letter is widely believed to have been a hoax , and may have been written by journalists in an attempt to heighten interest in the story and increase their newspapers ' circulation . The killer was called " the Whitechapel Murderer " as well as " Leather Apron " within the crime case files , as well as in contemporary journalistic accounts . 
