History Main / JacktheRipOff

* ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'' had a murderer start out imitating Jack the Ripper (and given the premise of the show, Henry was worried it ''was'' Jack the Ripper), then the Black Dhalia, and then moving on to the Boston Strangler.

* Peter Sutcliffe aka "The Yorkshire Ripper" was dubbed as a ripoff of the actual UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, having killed 13 and maimed nine women across Britain in the late 1970s.
** Sutcliffe had an unofficial accomplice of sorts called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wearside_Jack "Wearside Jack,"]] a.k.a. John Humble, a complete stranger fascinated with Jack the Ripper who pretended to be the Yorkshire Ripper with letters and audio recordings to confuse and spite the police. [[IgnoredExpert Despite FBI profilers telling them it was a hoax]] and anonymous confessions from Humble himself, [[PoliceAreUseless British police continued investigating him rather than Sutcliffe]] and he was sentenced to eight years in prison for obstruction of justice in 2006.
* As was Jack The Stripper, who unfortunately was never identified.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' and ''[[NinetyMinutes 90 Minutes]]'' had this, all perpetrated by [[spoiler:the killer's lawyer]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ausonius John Ausonius]], more commonly known as "Lasermannen" (Swedish for "The Laser Man"), was a serial killer known for not only using a lasersight handgun to exclusivly target people of a migrant background in Stockholm as a means of ridding the country of non-Swedes after his attempts at creating a Nazi party in Sweden failed, but also for being the main inspiration of [[https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mangs Peter Mangs]], another serial killer who was given the same moniker of "Lasermannen" after commiting a string of very similar murders in Malm&ouml with the same motives.

* It's often speculated that at least a few kills attributed to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Gévaudan the Beast of Gevaudan]] were actually the result of human murderers wearing wolf skins in imitation of it.

* Creator/DeanKoontz's ''Frankenstein: Prodigal Son'' has a subplot set aside for a serial killer who gradually realizes that someone is mimicking his MO (OrganTheft). He assumes it's an admirer paying him homage, and learns too late that the copycat's plan is to kill him, make it look like suicide, and pin all the murders on him.

* The SerialKiller in ''Series/{{Slasher}}'' is replicating the work of an imprisoned murderer by dressing like him as a medieval-style executioner and killing "sinners".

* Later ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' installments have introduced Vanny, who is an odd variant of this. During the events of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted'' she comes into contact with [[BigBad William Afton]]'s VirtualGhost and ends up BrainwashedAndCrazy, serving him as a LegacyCharacter. She's shown to follow a similar M.O. as Afton did in life, such as primarily targeting Fazbear locations, hacking animatronics, and luring [[WouldHurtAChild children]] using a [[HairRaisingHare rabbit costume]].

* ''Series/BronBroen'':

* The second story in ''Comicbook/NewLineCinemasTalesOfHorror'' had a guy copycatting [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]], complete with replica hat and sweater.

* A Creator/{{Wildstorm}}-published ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' comic had a woman lure her abusive boyfriend to Camp Crystal Lake, intending to murder him and make it look like he was killed by Jason. Unfortunately for her, the real Jason appears just as she's committing the deed and finishes him off before killing her.

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[[quoteright:324:[[Film/{{Copycat}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CopycatCrimes_2154.jpg]]]]

* To confuse investigators; for instance, if a suspect has been arrested and the crimes continue (thanks to Jack The Ripoff), the suspect will look innocent.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

-->-- '''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''', [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=265371 Thrill-Kill Assassin]] flavor text

* A non-lethal example in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. One episode featured a town where the cops use Spinarak as police-dog analogues instead of Growlithe because, one hundred years ago, an officer used a Spinarak to catch a famous cat burglar who used a Meowth. Team Rocket decided to impersonate that criminal.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Inverted in "Or Just Look Like One" - the SVU track a homicide that leads them to a cop/serial killer who suffocated and strangled prostitutes. He then mentions that the original murder they were running down ''isn't'' one of his, because he wants his count to be accurate.

* Played with in [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP]] [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-668 668,]] a chef's knife that makes its holder to go on a killing spree and inspires apathy in anyone observing to such a degree they are unable to do anything to help the victims. The incident that brought it to the foundation's attention references a real life murder that helped popularize the idea of the BystanderEffect.

* Some historians have suggested that that the fifth of the murders attributed to Jack the Ripper himself was actually the work of another murderer (as it happened some time after the previous four), who then dressed it up to look like a Ripper murder.

* John Wayne Gacy based his MO (luring young men to his home, then handcuffing, raping, and strangling them to death) on that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Corll Dean Corll.]]

* A whole lot of serial killers in fiction, and horrifyingly a few in real life, have drawn their inspiration from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein#In_popular_culture Ed Gein.]]

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ausonius John Ausonius,]] more commonly known as "Lasermannen" (Swedish for "The Laser Man"), was a serial killer known for not only using a lasersight handgun to exclusivly target people of a migrant background in Stockholm as a means of ridding the country of non-Swedes after his attempts at creating a nazi party in Sweden failed, but also for being the main inspiration of [[https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mangs Peter Mangs,]] another serial killer who was given the same moniker of "Lasermannen" after commiting a string of very similar murders in Malmö with the same motives.

* Other "Ripper" killers include the "Blackout Ripper" (Gordon Cummins), the "Camden Ripper" (Anthony Hardy), and the "Ipswich Ripper" (Steven Wright), all of whom broadly followed "Jack's" MO of murdering and mutilating sex workers. Like the above cases, the "Ripper" nickname was bestowed by the media rather than claimed by the killers themselves.

* Non-murder example in a ''ComicBook/MickeyMouse'' story. Mickey's ArchEnemy, the criminal mastermind the Phantom Blot is going on a crimespree, but Mickey [[SpottingTheThread notices that the Blot's tricks resemble stuff he has already done decades ago]]. Turns out that it was just a copycat college student with an interest in crimology.

* In ''Fanfic/PathOfTheKing'' part of the Misaki arc (specifically ''That Which Bleeds'') is on how [[spoiler: someone is taking advantage of the "vampire" SerialKiller case in Misaki city to kill people.]]

* In ''Film/HalloweenKills'', the most notable detail in a plot that keeps showing Michael Myers is NotSoInvincibleAfterAll is [[spoiler:that most of the film's kills are not done by Michael, but by the local BullyMagnet, who manages to steal Michael's mask and goes on a copycat spree to murder all of his tormentors. Michael [[HijackedByGanon do gets him back for that in the final act, though]], via NeckSnap]]. This is one of the details that make [[spoiler:Laurie Strode]] proclaim as one of the film's final lines that the evil that Michael brought to Haddonfield will never truly die, [[spoiler:even if Michael himself is no longer around]].

This is what the first episode of ''Podcast/SickSadWorld'' is about. It even discusses trope namer Jack the Ripper's imitators.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ausonius John Ausonius,]] more commonly known as "Lasermannen" (Swedish for "The Laser Man"), was a serial killer known for not only using a lasersight handgun to exclusivly target people of a migrant background in Stockholm as a means of ridding the country of non-Swedes after his attempts at creating a nazi party in Sweden failed, but also for being the main inspiration of [[https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Mangs Peter Mangs,]] another serial killer who was given the same monicer of "Lasermannen" after commiting a string of very similar murders in Malmö with the same motives.

* The ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' "Killer Queen" has a murderer who secretly arranges for Lois' brother, Patrick 'the Fat Guy Strangler', to be released from the mental hospital where he's being treated, then begins murdering using the same method as Patrick (strangling fat guys) in order to focus suspicion on Patrick instead of himself.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' has a murderer who secretly arranges for Lois' brother, Patrick 'the Fat Guy Strangler', to be released from the mental hospital where he's being treated, then begins murdering using the same method as Patrick (strangling fat guys) in order to focus suspicion on Patrick instead of himself.

* Mr. Sinister's origin story in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', "Descent". Just so we know for sure he's the bad guy.