A quick warning before we jump in. This episode is about one of the most notorious serial killers

in history and thus has some upsetting and graphic content. Please don't be like the woman who

complained that the musical six should have come with a trigger warning. When a story has been told so many times that it has become a part of the fabric of history,

how do we untangle the details and look deeper?

Welcome to Strange and Unexplained with me, Daisy Egan.

Recently, on a trip to London, I learned about the Crossbones Graveyard, which was a mass

burial pit rediscovered in the 90s.

While more than half the bodies buried in the forgotten pit were children, it's believed

that most of the adult bodies found belonged to women who'd been forced into sex work because

of their lack of access to education

and income. According to the website Living London History, quote, their life expectancy would have

been pretty dreadful, with disease and violence being very common. This is where crossbones

comes in. Due to their sinful profession, they were excluded from Christian burial,

and so were interred in the unconsecrated burial ground at Crossbones, known then as St. Savior's

burial ground. It became a graveyard for all those who were deemed unworthy of a decent burial

or simply could not afford it, the forgotten

and the outcast, end quote.

The victims in today's story were also treated with this kind of disregard for more than a

century. Indeed, their suspected murderer has received more thought, attention, and consideration

than they ever did. To this day, Jack the Ripper only has five official victims,

most of whom were generally not graced with a name when the story has been told.

But there were likely others, which makes one wonder,

...