Title: Mad Jack

Author: Ceri Jordan

Date of First Publication: 2000

Place of Publication: Hideous Progeny

Type: short story

Characters: No Character

Themes:  ANDROID; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; RETRO SF

Critical Summary: This short story takes place around 1888 where we meet Thomas Colborne, a detective trying to catch a criminal known as Jack the Resurrector. This criminal has been resurrecting women who have been murdered. He recalls cases while he travels to Scotland Yard and various places around Whitechapel and East End to piece together the case. We also get to know more personal details about Colborne’s home life, where his wife, Emily is sick. This troubles his mind, yet he dedicates himself in his work.

Eventually, Jack presents himself to Colborne and offers to help him resurrect Emily if she were to pass away. Colborne asks him why he’s not afraid that he will turn him in. Jack responds that it’s his decision to make and continues by telling him to hang a Chinese lantern in the window when Emily passes. The story ends with Colborne being left with a decision to make.

Mad Jack is relevant to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein because it makes readers question if the women being murdered in the story are still human. It appears that they are murdered sometimes in front of witnesses, but then they walk away and disappear leaving a corpse to be unfound by the police. In Martha Turner’s case, we see a victim who wishes she was never resurrected. According to her, she did not wish to be brought back to life. She repeats to Thomas Colbourne that she did not ask to be helped by Jack and that the whole scenario brought her a whole bunch of trouble, leaving her ultimately behind bars.

Although Jack the Ressurector is compared to Jack the Ripper with a twist, we see a bit of the Mad Scientist theme present in this short story when he takes it upon himself to give life to others without their consent. From his perspective, it may seem like he’s doing good deeds, but like a scientist, he’s playing God and the victims don’t appreciate the second opportunity at life because how they are treated by their peers. In a way, the victims feel ostracized by their community like the monster in Frankenstein.

Administrative Notes: Trish Martinez, CSUF