The Ripper's Tale

TED BUNDY. AILEEN WUORNOS. ANDREI CHIKATILO. Now that such real-life mass murderers have had their day in the media sun, isn't it about time the original celebrity-psychopath got to take a bow of his own? Have no fear; coming this fall to a bookstore near you is The Diary of Jack the Ripper, courtesy of U.S. publisher Warner Books and Britain's Smith Gryphon. The tome purports to offer the authentic contents of a journal penned by the legendary London killer who slashed his way into infamy over three months in 1888 by murdering and mutilating at least seven and perhaps as many as 14 prostitutes in the city's tawdry Whitechapel district. The published edition promises to include a facsimile of the Ripper's confessional document, a transcript and material authenticating that the book is the work of Jack himself. Bill Waddell, curator of Scotland Yard's closed archives, says, "The evidence is unique. It cannot be dismissed."