Selección Terror: Curtis Garland - Londres, 1888

This issue of *Selección Terror* (#260, February 1978) presents "Londres, 1888" by Curtis Garland, a crime-horror novel set during the Jack the Ripper murders. The author's preface acknowledges inspiration from the historical killer but claims the work offers a different approach, blending elements from various criminal figures (Jekyll and Hyde, Burke and Hare) into a single narrative rather than directly retelling Ripper murders. The story opens with the murder of Nancy Ascott, an aging East End prostitute, brutally stabbed in a dark alley near Whitechapel. A mysterious cloaked figure emerges from fog and mist, wielding a knife with deliberate cruelty—the victim's face is slashed and her eye pierced. Scotland Yard superintendent Everett Greaves and sergeant Patrick O'Hara investigate, noting the killer's cold precision and lack of passion despite the extreme savagery. The crime initiates what the narrative suggests will be a prolonged series of killings.