Eight little whores, with no hope of heaven
Gladstone may save one, then there'll be seven.
Seven little whores beggin for a shilling,
One stays in Henage Court, then there's a killing.
Six little whores, glad to be alive,
One sidles up to Jack, then there are five.
Four and a whore rhyme alright,
So do three and me,
I'll set the town alight
'Ere there are two.
Two little whores, shivering with fright,
Seek a cosy doorway in the middle of the night.
Jack's knife flashes, then there's but one,
And the last one's the ripest for Jack's idea of fun.
An anonymous verse sent to police in the
fall of 1888, attributed to Jack the Ripper.