History Main / JacktheRipOff

* ''Series/TheSandman2022''. Three serial killers are organising a 'convention' of their kind, and want to invite Corinthian (they don't know he's immortal, assuming he's copying the original Corinthian from a hundred years ago) but he refuses to make contact, so one suggests copying his kills in the hope of drawing him out. The others disapprove of this trope, but play along for lack of a better idea. It works, and fortunately Corinthian decides to forgo killing them as he likes the idea that he's inspiring others.

* ''Series/{{Forever}}'' 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.

* ''Series/TheSandman2022''. Three serial killers are organising a 'convention' of their kind, and want to invite Corinthian (they don't know he's immortal, but assume he's copying the kills of the original Corinthian from a hundred years ago) but he refuses to make contact, so one suggests copying his kills in the hope of drawing him out. The others disapprove of this trope, but decide to play along for lack of a better idea. It works, and fortunately Corinthian decides to forgo killing them as he likes the idea that he's inspiring others.

[[TropeNamer Named]], of course, after the infamous (and [[TheUnsolvedMystery unidentified]]) {{Victorian|London}} serial killer UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper, who has indeed inspired a few real-life copycats, such as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sutcliffe the Yorkshire Ripper]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Stripper Jack the Stripper]].

* 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.

** 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.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heriberto_Seda The New York Zodiac Killer]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seito_Sakakibara the Japanese Zodiac Killer]].

* 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]].

* Terror attacks and mass shootings are often the result of the contagion effect; that is, [[https://thewellesleynews.com/2017/10/19/media-contagion-inspires-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/ they often spawn copycat incidents]]

* [[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 PointAndClickGame for the Playstation, ''VideoGame/CatTheRipper'', ahve the player's AmnesiacHero trying to solve the titular murderer's clues and stop his killing spree.

* In the Britain-themed ''ComicBook/{{Wisdom}}'' miniseries by Creator/MarvelComics, one issue has a guy who can summon up things from alternate realities and because he's a Jack the Ripper fanatic, alternate Jack the Rippers keep appearing. Some of which look like bad movie villains, one of which is a riff on ''ComicBook/FromHell,'' one of which is an ape with a straight razor, one of which is apparently a rival prostitute, and one of which is actually Franchise/SherlockHolmes! (The last one was a reference to Michael Dibdin's notoriously trolling crime novel ''The Last Sherlock Holmes Story''.) Most are wearing top hats and capes, of course.

* ''Series/FBIMostWanted'' : In "Greatest Hits", the team searches for a murderer recreating the chilling killings of a notorious '80s mobster.

* Issue #2 ''ComicBook/DylanDog'' has Dylan investigating murders in London linked to Jack the Ripper, who has supposedly returned from the dead after being summoned through a SpookySeance organized by Sarah Sarandon, who got slayed first. [[spoiler: It turns out that Sarah was a fraud con artist, and the killer is her stepdaughter Jane, who suggested her to use Jack in order to keep the legendary fear of the Ripper alive whilst creating a great alibi for herself. Jane dies when the wax museum she works at catches fire and a statue of Jack the Ripper seemingly comes to life and strikes her while melting, making it seem as if Jack has briefly manifested himself for real to punish the puny fool who tried to take his mantle]].

* Peter Sutcliffe aka "The Yorkshire Ripper" was a ripoff of the actual UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper.

* 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. In these cases, though, the "Ripper" nickname was bestowed by the media rather than claimed by the killers themselves.

%%* Both ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' and ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' feature a serial killer that targets women, seeking to use their bodies to recreate a deceased love.

* ''Fanfic/TheVictorsProject'': Gloss's chapter establishes that he kidnaps, drugs and tortures someone every year (with Cashmere helping him plan the abduction and making sure he never actually kills anyone) to sate his bloodlust, having been dubbed the Midtown Mincer. During Finnick Odair's public unveiling of Capitolites secrets, we get this gem.
--> ''Finnick:'' Bendedicta Horton, you strangled your husband and blamed the Midtown Mincers just so you could get your hands on the inheritance. Oh, and speaking of the Midtown Mincers, ''[[BlatantLies no idea]]''.

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', [[spoiler: Higuchi]] and Misa both attempt to rip off the original Kira, Light. [[spoiler: Higuchi]], in fact, was given a death note in the first place to imitate Light, and supposedly prove his innocence.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', a man attempts to murder his landlady and blame it on the SerialKiller who is already terrorizing the town. He's arrested before he can carry out the deep, but it really confuses the ongoing investigation to find the real killer.

* One of the tattooed convicts in ''Manga/GoldenKamuy'' attempts to recreate Jack the Ripper's prostitute serial killings down to the body placement, except in Sapporo instead of London. [[spoiler: He's a foreigner named Michael Ostrog and it's heavily implied [[SubvertedTrope he's the actual Jack the Ripper]].]]

* In one story, ComicBook/TexWiller's trouble in a town are doubled by the presence of a serial killer of women who's pretty much a lookalike of Jack the Ripper, known as "Lo Sventratore" (lit. The Gutter, ripper instead is translated as "lo Squartatore".) Turns out, [[spoiler:it is a girl, the same girl who's been helping Tex fighting the bad guys of the week and also gives a bit of psycho MotiveRant about being disgusted by women who "sell themselves"]].

* In ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', a man attempts to murder his landlady and blame it on the SerialKiller who is already terrorizing the town. He's arrested before he can carry out the deep, but it really confuses the ongoing investigation to find the real killer.
* This is part of the main tension in ''Film/TheExorcistIII'', where someone is apparently recreating the murders of a Zodiac-like SerialKiller called The Gemini Killer, who had been arrested and executed years before. The thing is, this new Gemini knows details about the murders that were deliberately kept from the public in order to [[BluffTheImposter immediately identify]] false confessions and copycat killers. So the question is, did they catch the wrong person the first time? It turns out that [[spoiler: they did get the right guy last time, but his ghost is possessing the living to carry on his murders, with demonic aid. This is, after all, an ''Exorcist'' sequel.]]

* ''Literature/ShadowPolice'': In ''The Severed Streets'', the killer deliberately dresses up his murders with the theatrics of Jack the Ripper as a elaborate smokescreen.

* In order to disguise an unrelated crime as part of another criminal's M.O. to deflect suspicion to the original killer.

* Happens at least once in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' - a man is murdered in a similar modus operandus as a serial killer whose original slayings neared the StatuteOfLimitations, but Conan deduces that [[spoiler: the victim ''was'' the murderer, killed by one of the victims' vengeful family members]] through the victim's DyingClue. ([[spoiler: The dead man put blood on the CTRL and C keys and died grabbing the mouse by its cord to imply that the murderer was a copy cat.]])

* One of the tattooed convicts in ''Manga/GoldenKamuy'' attempts to recreate Jack the Ripper's prostitute serial killings down to the body placement, except in Sapporo instead of London. [[spoiler: He's a foreigner named Michael Ostrog and it's heavily implied [[SubvertedTrope he's the ''actual'' Jack the Ripper]].]]

* ''Manga/TanteiGakuenQ'''s "Psychic Murder Case" has two cases of someone getting axed to death in a perfect locked room as if it was done by, well, psychic that happened in the same location but different years. The first murder eluded police's investigation from little to no evidence, while the second one was easily solved because of the abundance of incriminating clues. Ironically, [[spoiler:Both of the cases were based on a murder plan coming from Pluto. While the first case's mediator, Cerberus, carefully considered the best situation for the plan to occur perfectly[[note]]namely weather condition and season[[/note]], the second murder's mediator, Thanatos, [[SmugSnake had so much arrogance]] that he thought he could copy Cerberus' murder plan with several compensating twists, but it ended up making the culprit do suspicious things[[note]]such as drugging some of the dinner menu and installing air conditioner in every guest's room except the culprit's because the murder happen during summer unlike first case's rainy autumn[[/note]] ]]

* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' movies have had a few people who imitate Jigsaw's death traps. One way to tell the crimes apart is that Jigsaw's death traps have ''some'' way to escape, while imitators (who generally do not share Jigsaw's "vision") do not.

* ''Manga/TanteiGakuenQ'''s "Psychic Murder Case" has two cases of someone getting axed to death in a perfect locked room as if it was done by, well, psychic that happened in the same location but different years. The first murder eluded police's investigation from little to no evidence, while the second one was easily solved because of the abundance of incriminating clues. Ironically, [[spoiler:Both of the cases were based on a murder plan concept coming from Pluto. While the first case's mediator, Cerberus, carefully consider the best situation for the plan to occur perfectly[[note]]namely weather condition and season[[/note]], the second murder's mediator, Thanatos, [[SmugSnake had so much arrogance]] that he thought he could copy Cerberus' murder plan with several compensating twists, but it ended up making the culprit do unnecessary things[[note]]such as drugging some of the dinner menu and installing air conditioner in every guest's room except the culprit's because the murder happen during summer unlike first case's rainy autumn[[/note]] ]]

* 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 hacking animatronics and luring [[WouldHurtAChild children]] using a [[HairRaisingHare rabbit costume]].