Halloween auction set to sell rare Jack the Ripper inscribed photo

The Halloween themed auction will see a photograph with writing on the back, believed to have been written by notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper.

Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the Whitechapel district of London, in 1888.

Rare - The front of the photograph that has Jack the Ripper's writing on the back (Image: Reeman Dansie)

The scrawled message is on the reverse of a sepia photograph of an unknown person.

The messages reads: "I must find a cure for that dreadful disease in (Whitechapel), and will keep my knife nice and sharp, will strike again when time is right, perhaps in New Year."

This recent discovery was made amongst the owner's late uncle's belongings.

Inscribed - The words found on the back of the sepia photograph (Image: Reeman Dansie)

Whilst it has been dismissed by experts as a likely fake, it was previously unknown to Ripperologists and it remains a curio which poses fresh questions for researchers.

Estimated to be sold for between £500 and £1,000, the item is set to star in Colchester auctioneers Reeman Dansie's horror themed sale. 

Other lots that are available to be bid on include a shrunken head, an 18th century handwritten spell and a 1940's Bakelite telephone that is purported to receive messages from the dead.

For more information head to: www.reemandansie.com/auction/details