A dissection scalpel in his pocket, a poem about "ripping" women in his notebook, and a bed just yards away from the final murder scene. Today, we put the "Mad Poet" theory to The Pub Test.We usually look for Jack the Ripper among royalty, doctors, or foreign sailors. But what if the answer has been hiding in the English Literature section of the library the whole time?In this episode, we investigate Francis Thompson—a celebrated Victorian poet who was also a homeless, opium-addicted medical school dropout living in the heart of Whitechapel during the Autumn of Terror.Based on the research of Richard Patterson and Dr. Joseph Rupp, we examine the terrifying possibility that Thompson didn't just witness the horrors of 1888... he wrote them down as a confession.In this video, we cover:The Proximity: How Thompson lived at Providence Row, directly backing onto the site of Mary Kelly’s murder.The Motive: The "Saviour" prostitute who abandoned him and sparked a deadly rage.The Evidence: A forensic look at his poem "The Nightmare of the Witch-Babies" and the short story "Finis Coronat Opus."The Weapon: Did his medical student's scalpel match the autopsy reports?The Verdict: Does the "Mad Poet" theory actually stand up to scrutiny?Featured Research:Francis Thompson: A Ripper Suspect by Richard Patterson.Was Francis Thompson Jack the Ripper? by Dr. Joseph C. Rupp (1988).About the Host:Owen is a fiction writer who loves exploring real-life mysteries and forgotten stories.Check out his books 👇📚 The Power of History📚 Corporate Jungle🎧 Audio Credits:Bar Crowd – Logans Pub – Feb 2007.wav by lonemonk — License: Attribution 3.0OpenBeerDrinkIt.wav by samule44 — License: Attribution 4.0